West Ham United announced their second signing of the January transfer window with Nathan Holland securing his move to the London Stadium.
Shown a lot of faith
The England U19 international follows on from the signing of Southampton’s Jose Fonte, and is one of the brightest talents in the country at the moment.
The former Everton man has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers, keeping him at the London Stadium until 2020 and he shared his delight at signing for the East London outfit.
“It’s amazing, I’m quite gobsmacked to be honest,” Holland told whufc.com. “When I first came down, Terry introduced me to all the staff and they were all very welcoming.”
“They’ve shown a lot of faith in me,” he stated. “I just want to repay that and kick on.”
“It’s all a bit of a family thing down here,” the attacking midfielder admitted. “Everyone is close together.”
“It’s a brilliant set up they’ve got,” Holland concluded. “I think it will only help me improve. I think I can do that.”
Giving him that platform
It is expected that the 18-year-old will be put straight into the U23 side, with Terry Westley’s men taking on Leicester City on Monday night.
The Hammers excellent talent in their youth side, and Westley shared his delight at adding another bright talent to his side.
“It’s taken a while to get the player to us,” he said. “He’s someone who I saw two years ago playing for England in the same team as Reece Oxford.”
“I looked down at my programme and circled his name,” the coach admitted. “Because of the talent that I saw.”
“He’s an England international through the ages,” he stated. “He’s got those late developer signs which we like.”
“We know he’s going to mature and we are going to give him the platform,” the 57-year-old stressed. “A long enough contract to develop with us.”
“To come here now is a big challenge,” Westley added. “But it’s one I know he is looking forward to.”
West Ham United will take on Manchester City at the London Stadium on Wednesday, February 1 with kick-off at 7:45pm GMT.