Ryan Fredericks: West Ham sign defender from Fulham on four-year deal

Fredericks joins West Ham on a four-year deal

West Ham United have signed defender Ryan Fredericks in a free transfer from Fulham on a four-year deal.

The 25-year-old English right-back helped Fulham win promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Fredericks, whose contract was due to expire on 30 June, is West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini's first signing.

"It's an exciting time for West Ham," said Fredericks. "The club have just brought in a new manager and everyone knows his CV and what he has done."

He added: "It just felt like, for the next step of my career, I would be best suited coming here."

Fredericks was named in the Championship team of the year for 2017-18.

He began his career at Tottenham and had loan spells at Brentford, Millwall and Middlesbrough before joining Bristol City in 2015.

But after less than a month at Ashton Gate he moved to Fulham, where he played 114 games, culminating in a Wembley play-off final win over Aston Villa last month.

Pellegrini has been linked with a move for Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore this week as he looks to put his mark on a West Ham squad which finished 13th in the Premier League last season, leading to David Moyes leaving the manager's role.

The club's co-owner David Gold has said he expects to spend more money on the squad than in any previous summer.

Pellegrini said: "Ryan has good experience, with more than 150 senior appearances already but, at 25, he is still a young player with his best years ahead of him."