West Ham’s dream spine come February

Jose Fonte

West Ham pulled off quite the coup in securing the services of Southampton captain Jose Fonte last week, especially as Manchester United had shown an interest during the summer.

The centre-back, who won the European Championships with Portugal last year, made just under 300 appearances for the Saints in a seven-year spell at St Mary’s, and helped them go from a League One outfit to an established Premier League team.

Fonte has proved his credentials in the top-flight over the past three years, failing to appear in only four of Southampton’s 114 matches in their last three full seasons, and earning rave reviews from many as to his ability in the heart of a Saints defence which has always been difficult to break down.

Similar performances at West Ham will certainly please Bilic, and indeed the Hammers faithful.