TexasGers 96 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 West Ham United have signed Portuguese defender Manuel Da Costa from Fiorentina and sent attacking-midfielder Savio Nsereko in the opposite direction. Savio: Heading back to Serie A Former Nancy and PSV centre-back Da Costa failed to establish himself in Italy's Serie A, despite a loan spell at Sampdoria, and the 23-year-old is now hoping to impress Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola. Savio moved to the Premier League in a £9m deal during the January transfer window from Serie B side Brescia. The Germany Under-21 international is tipped to be a star but had trouble settling in England. The Hammers will retain 50% of Savio's sell-on value and West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury said: "This is a good deal for everyone concerned." He added: "Although not for the want of trying, Savio has struggled to make an impact for various reasons, while Manuel is also looking for a fresh start. Had our financial situation been different we would have preferred to have kept and developed Savio. "We will continue to look at home and across Europe for the brightest prospects as they best fit our vision for this club's future. However, we are required to make savings and our policy has always been to sell players on the fringes rather than established first-team players. "With the fee we received for Savio and 50% sell-on together with acquiring the highly-rated Da Costa, it represented a great deal.'' Fiorentina, who have also sold Serbian midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic to Stuttgart for £5m, have added teenage Boca Juniors defender Ezequiel Munoz for £7m. The 19-year-old will be out for two months due to injury. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...ers&cc=3888 Savio was pretty average the few occasions I saw him turn out for West Ham. As for da Costa, perhaps this means Collins/Upson are on their way out? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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