OFFICIAL: West Ham recruit Corinthians defender Balbuena

The Hammers' summer spending spree continues, as they announced their sixth signing of the summer on Saturday. After bringing in Jack Wilshere, Ryan Fredericks, Lukasz Fabianski, Andriy Yarmolenko and Issa Diop to the London Stadium, they have now made another defensive addition, in the form of centre-back Balbuena.

The defender arrives from Brazilian team Corinthians, where he has spent two years, scoring eight times in his two seasons. The 26-year-old played 58 times in the most recent season, with only two other Corinthians players making more appearances.

The Paraguay international also has seven caps to his name, and is known as ‘El Comandante’.

“I’m really excited for this new challenge and my target is to meet the demands of the Premier League," Balbuena said after signing, speaking to West Ham's club website.

“Obviously to be at West Ham is an extra motivation, and I want to do my best to help the team.”

 

July 14, 2018

The club's director of football, Mario Husillos, expressed his satisfaction at the signing. “We welcome Fabian to West Ham United," he said. "He is somebody we have monitored for a long time and we are very pleased to have taken the opportunity to sign him.

“He is a player of great strength, character and personality. To be captain of Corinthians, one of the biggest clubs in South America, requires a very strong mentality, and he also has international experience with Paraguay.

"He has won many individual honours and was often named one of the best central defenders in Brazil for his statistics.

“We believe he will improve our squad and our defensive qualities. He is the perfect age – a player for the present and the future – and he can be a very important player for many years at West Ham."