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Hammers obtain Obiang
West Ham United are thrilled to announce the signing of Spain Under-21 midfielder Pedro Obiang from Sampdoria for an undisclosed fee.
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A number of top European clubs were chasing the midfielder, but West Ham have won the race to sign the 23-year-old, who has penned a four-year-deal.
Obiang made 35 appearances for Sampdoria last season and was one of the star performers for the Italian side in Serie A, scoring three goals in 34 league appearances as Il Blucerciati finished seventh to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Speaking in his very first interview as a Hammers player, the Spaniard expressed his delight at having signed on the dotted line.
“I’m very happy to have signed," he confirmed. "We have been talking about this for a long time and now I’ve finally got the chance to come here.
“I went on holiday after the season had finished and I was looking forward to receiving that call to tell me where and when to sign for this Club!
“I’m very excited to play in the Premier League. It’s a style of football that will help me to progress as a player and as a person, so it will be very good."
Obiang becomes the first signing under new manager Slaven Bilic and the Hammers' second summer recruit is relishing the chance to play under the Croatian coach.
He continued: “I think Bilic is a manager that can do very well here. I know that he was a West Ham player and he did a very well with the Croatian national team. He is a manager that likes to play good football and I really like that so I am sure that we will get along very well."
The box-to-box midfielder has plenty of experience and the Club are hoping he will go on to become a major force in the Barclays Premier League next season.
Obiang was brought up in Madrid and stated his career playing for local sides CD Avance and AD Naya before moving to Atletico Madrid. But he decided to leave the Spanish club when he was 16 and moved to Sampdoria, where he signed a five-year contract.
He was rewarded for his impressive form when he made his debut against Italian giants Juventus back in 2010 and helped his side come away with a 3-3 draw.
Obiang has since gone on to make 128 league appearances and also has featured in the Europa League where he played his first game against Hungarian side Debrecen in December 2010.
He has plenty of international experience having represented Spain at Under-17 and Under-19 level and also has two caps for the Spain Under-21 side.
Obiang becomes the second major signing of the summer following the arrival of Darren Randolph from Birmingham City.
With the arrival of Slaven Bilic as the new manager this week, the Club are still hopeful they will be able to make several more signings before the new season gets underway.
