Confirmed: West Ham complete signing of Frederik Alves
West Ham United have confirmed the signing of promising defender Frederik Alves on Tuesday afternoon.
The Danish central defender will officially complete his move to the London Stadium at the start of January from Silkeborg.
The 21-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Irons after completing the switch for an undisclosed fee this week.
Alves has been speaking to the media and has claimed that he is looking to be involved with the first-team as soon as possible.
“I’m feeling very excited and I can’t wait to get started,” he said.
“My plan is to join up and train with the squad in January and, from there, to work hard so that I can play with the first team.
“I have great respect for the senior defenders here and I am the young one, so I am going to learn as much as I can from them because they are more experienced and know how the Premier League works. I am here to learn.”
The main improvement that David Moyes has made this season has been his defence.
West Ham have been playing with five-at-the-back when Arthur Masuaku was fully fit, and that has seen them consistently choose the same back three.
Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell and Fabian Balbuena have all been superb, and have cemented their spots for the foreseeable future.
Alves will offer great competition and strength in depth, but his chances should be limited to the FA Cup and the occasional Premier League game.
The 21-year-old has completed 735 minutes of league action this season, keeping only two clean sheets, but winning an impressive 77.3% of his defensive duels [WyScout].
Moyes will be happy to bring in more cover for his defence, especially after his change in system this season.
In other West Ham United news, our Moment of the Match from Irons defeat v Chelsea