West Ham United have completed the signing of Manuel Lanzini on a four-year contract from Al Jazira.
The 23-year-old midfielder had been on loan from UAE club Al Jazira, of the Arabian Gulf League, and has now sealed a permanent switch to Upton Park.
He scored a screamer against Chelsea in their 2-2 draw on Saturday and has been rewarded, with sources saying he cost around £9 million (Dh47.2m). The deal includes an option for a further two years.
Jack Sullivan, the son of Hammers joint-chairman David Sullivan, confirmed the news on Twitter.
He wrote: “Lanzini is a WHU player for the next 4 seasons, with a further 2 year option.”
Read more: West Ham's Dimitri Payet is 'better than Zidane' as Slaven Bilic compares him to Mesut Ozil
West Ham coach Slaven Bilic has now secured the futures of three of his key players after Dimitri Payet and Cheikhou Kouyate recently signed new long-term contracts.
Lanzini is back to full fitness following a spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury.
The Argentinian scored his sixth goal of the season with a fine 20-yard curler in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.
France playmaker Payet has taken most of the spotlight for West Ham this season but Sullivan senior says Lanzini is just as important.
He told the Daily Mail: “You say Payet and, yes, he is our star, but I can say Lanzini, [Michail] Antonio, [Mark] Noble, Kouyate.
“We’ve just given Kouyate a new deal, even though he had more than four years on his last one.
“We want to reward excellence. They have all played their part.”
Newcastle sign Vereniki Goneva for next season
Newcastle have secured the services of Fiji international Vereniki Goneva for next season.
The 31-year-old wing or centre has agreed to swap Leicester, with whom he won the Aviva Premiership title in 2012-13, for Kingston Park, the Falcons have announced.
Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards said: “We are getting not only a world-class player with Vereniki, but also somebody who has consistently proven they can thrive in the Aviva Premiership.
“He will bring another dimension to our back-line firepower from next season onwards, and it says much for the current standing of the Falcons that we can attract a player of his calibre.”
Goneva has scored 26 league tries for Leicester, adding a further six touchdowns in his 20 European Champions Cup outings, and played for Fiji at last year’s Rugby World Cup.
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