West Ham have signed Alex song on a season- long loan deal from the Catalans, with the player seemingly having subbed teams the likes of Manchester United for his services.
West Ham released the following statement regarding his transfer:
"West Ham United are delighted to confirm they have beaten off interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs to complete the signing of Barcelona midfielder Alex Song on a season-long loan deal.
Song, 26, has spent the last two seasons at the Nou Camp following his £15million move from Arsenal in the summer of 2012, playing 39 La Liga matches and winning the title in 2012/13."
The Cameroonian also had this to say regarding his short term move:
"I'm very happy to be here and very happy to see the guys and the fans today and to start to do my job for West Ham United. I think this is very important for me to be coming back to London to West Ham United, which is a club with ambition to build a new stadium and become a big club. I am very excited to be part of this project.
For me, when I was in Spain, I always said that if I was to leave one day I would return to the Premier League. It was a very hard decision, because when you have options of a lot of clubs who are playing in the Champions League, but at the end of the day I chose West Ham because I wanted to come to the Premier League. This is a league which has given me a lot and I didn't finish what I wanted to achieve here.
For my family too, it was very important, because my children and my wife wanted to come back to England. This is an opportunity to do that with West Ham and I just took it. I am very happy to be here and very proud to be part of the project at this club."
The former Arsenal man joins up with Sam Allardyce's side after a failing to make an impression during his two years in Catalonia and the Cameroonian international will be keen to revitalise his career.
He was superb for the Gunners during the 2011/2012 season, establishing himself as not only an excellent holding midfielder but key creator of chances from deeper positions.
In truth, the Gunners have never really replaced his defensive qualities in that area of the field, and for West Ham, they'll be getting a player that's undeniably capable of coping with the rigorous nature of Premier League football.
In addition, after his spell in Catalonia, we should also see a player that is not only technically better, but sharper in his passing, much more shrewd in his positioning on the field and keen to take responsibility for dictating the pace of a game from his preferred deep-lying midfield role.
In conclusion, Song is still just 26 years old and he’ll feel as though his best years are still ahead of him. At West Ham he should be afforded the opportunities to re-establish himself as a quality midfield player and in return help West Ham to a prosperous campaign this year.