West Ham United sign Millwall keeper David Martin

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

West Ham United have confirmed the signing of David Martin.

We exclusively revealed last month that the Hammers were set to snap up the goalkeeper, whose Millwall contract runs out at the end of June.

Martin will officially link up with West Ham on July 1. He has agreed a two-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months.

“Signing for West Ham United is a dream, both for me and my family,” the shotstopper told West Ham’s official website.

“I’ve grown up around West Ham and to come to my boyhood club is a dream.

“I came to games as a kid as one of the supporters in the stands at the Boleyn Ground. I loved watching my dad [Alvin Martin] play, and I’ve continued coming to games throughout my career.

“You can see the impact the fans can have on the team and it gives you goosebumps. The fans at West Ham are brilliant and it’s fantastic to be a part of this great club.

“I’ve always been an enthusiastic and positive person – I’ll always go into training every day with that attitude to compete with Lukasz (Fabianski) and Roberto.”

West Ham’s director of football Mario Husillos said “We are happy to sign David Martin. He was excited about our project from the first moment we spoke to him.

“As well as knowing his career and his last season in the Championship, we also had excellent reports about him both as a professional and as a person from Xavi Valero, our goalkeeper coach, who has worked with him before at Liverpool.

“Because of all these reasons, he was an obvious target and we are pleased to have him at the club.”

IMAGE BY KEITH GILLARD