West Ham bank on Quashie

Scottish international midfielder Nigel Quashie has joined West Ham United FC from West Bromwich Albion FC for an initial fee of €2.25m.

Survival bonus
The 28-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the Premiership side with West Brom set to reap a further €400,000 provided that Quashie helps West Ham avoid relegation at the end of the season. Quashie has previously been relegated from the Premiership with Queens Park Rangers FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Southampton FC and West Brom, who are now chasing promotion back to the top tier.

'Vast experience'
"We've signed Nigel because he is an experienced player who will add competition to our central midfield positions," said West Ham manager Alan Curbishley. "I have not promised him anything in terms of first-team football - he will have to earn it like the rest of the players - but he brings vast experience to the club and has shown me that he is eager and hungry to do everything he can to help us."

Harder option
"I'm delighted that the deal has now been done and it feels great to be a West Ham United player," added Quashie, who has scored once in 14 games for Scotland. "I fully believe that the squad here is capable of achieving the success they want. The easier option would have been to stay at West Brom and try to keep us up there in the Championship with a chance of promotion but I looked at the situation here and saw it as a club who can go on to bigger and better things in the future if we can stay in the Premiership." West Ham are currently third from bottom of the Premiership, four points adrift of 17th-placed Wigan Athletic FC.