West Ham sign left-back Arthur Masuaku from Olympiakos on four-year contract

Masuaku is relishing the chance to play with Dimitri Payet
Bongarts/Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj8 August 2016

West Ham have signed French left-back Arthur Masuaku from Olympiakos on a four-year deal, the Hammers have confirmed.

The 22-year-old has been recruited by coach Slaven Bilic as an immediate replacement for Aaron Cresswell, who was recently ruled out of action for up to four months with a knee ligament injury.

Masuaku, who was born in Lille, won back-to-back domestic titles with Olympiakos and made 12 appearances in the Champions League and admitted that when the chance to sign for West Ham presented itself, he didn't hesitate to say yes to the move.

In a statement on West Ham's official website, he said: "It’s a big honour for me to be part of this club.

"I was speaking with my agent about some opportunities, but when he told me about West Ham and also the coach, I didn’t think twice, so in my mind, it was West Ham.

"Now, to be able to play with players like Dimitri Payet, I was thinking on the way here, it’s going to be crazy!

"I can’t wait to play with him and also all the rest of the team.

"For me, the Premier League is the biggest league in the world.

"When I was 18, my target was to come here, so now I am here, I have to prove myself to the fans and to the team so that I can play for this big club."

Masuaku started off his career in France with Lens before he made the move to Valenciennes in 2008, aged 14.

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After breaking into the team and then cementing his place in the starting XI, the full-back attracted the attention of Greek side Olympiakos, who he went on to join two years ago.

He enjoyed a memorable debut in the Champions League after scoring in the club's 3-2 group stage win over Atletico Madrid in September 2014 and also played against Arsenal and Bayern Munich in Europe's premier competition last season.

However, Masuaku will not be eligible to be selected for West Ham's Europa League play-off clash against Romanian side Astra Giurgiu but will be able to feature in the group stages of the competiton should the Hammers progress that far.

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