Hammers nail Parker

West Ham have completed the £7million signing of England midfielder Scott Parker from Newcastle.

Parker has agreed a five-year deal and becomes West Ham's first signing of the summer, with the move to Upton Park ensuring the 26-year-old links up again with Alan Curbishley, his former manager at Charlton

Curbishley said: "I'm delighted Scott has agreed to sign for us. Our relationship goes back some time to when he first joined Charlton as a schoolboy. He's coming to the club knowing full well that we're trying to push forward and he wants to be part of that."

He added: "Firstly he wants to improve our team, then he wants to improve his chances of forcing his way back into the England scene.

"He has been captain of Newcastle over the last couple of seasons and he is exactly the type of player that I wanted to bring to the club.

"He's very experienced but still young and I'm sure he's going to be a big asset to West Ham."