West Ham United have completed the signing of Portuguese
international Luis Boa Morte from Fulham for an undisclosed
fee.
The 29-year-old winger agreed personal terms at Upton Park yesterday afternoon and passed his medical last night before putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract with the Club.
The former Arsenal and Southampton star becomes Alan Curbishley's first signing as Hammers boss and will go straight into the squad for Saturday's FA Cup third round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Born in Lisbon in August 1977, Luis began his professional career with his hometown club, Sporting Lisbon, in 1996, but spent just one season there before moving to England at the age of 19 to join the Gunners in June 1997 for a fee of 1.75million.
In two seasons at Highbury, he made 40 league and cup appearances under Arsene Wenger but, after growing frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities, was allowed to join Southampton in a £500,000 deal in August 1999.
After spending just one season with the Saints, he moved to Fulham in a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2000 and helped the Londoners win the old First Division Championship in May 2001, scoring the goal against Huddersfield that clinched promotion to the Premiership, before completing a permanent £1.7million transfer to Craven Cottage that summer.
In the same year he won a call-up to Portugal's national team, making his international debut in a 4-0 defeat against France, and has since gone on to win 25 caps for his country, scoring two goals. He was a member of the Portuguese squad that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Germany last summer, appearing as a substitute in a 2-1 Group D victory over Mexico.
After establishing himself as a firm favourite among the Fulham fans, Luis was appointed the club's captain last season following the departure of Lee Clark, and has since earned a reputation as one of the Premiership's most exciting attackers. He missed just four league matches in the 2005-06 campaign and has again been one of Fulham's key performers this season.
A full and exclusive interview with Luis, along with reaction from Alan Curbishley, will appear on whufc.com shortly…
The 29-year-old winger agreed personal terms at Upton Park yesterday afternoon and passed his medical last night before putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract with the Club.
The former Arsenal and Southampton star becomes Alan Curbishley's first signing as Hammers boss and will go straight into the squad for Saturday's FA Cup third round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Born in Lisbon in August 1977, Luis began his professional career with his hometown club, Sporting Lisbon, in 1996, but spent just one season there before moving to England at the age of 19 to join the Gunners in June 1997 for a fee of 1.75million.
In two seasons at Highbury, he made 40 league and cup appearances under Arsene Wenger but, after growing frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities, was allowed to join Southampton in a £500,000 deal in August 1999.
After spending just one season with the Saints, he moved to Fulham in a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2000 and helped the Londoners win the old First Division Championship in May 2001, scoring the goal against Huddersfield that clinched promotion to the Premiership, before completing a permanent £1.7million transfer to Craven Cottage that summer.
In the same year he won a call-up to Portugal's national team, making his international debut in a 4-0 defeat against France, and has since gone on to win 25 caps for his country, scoring two goals. He was a member of the Portuguese squad that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Germany last summer, appearing as a substitute in a 2-1 Group D victory over Mexico.
After establishing himself as a firm favourite among the Fulham fans, Luis was appointed the club's captain last season following the departure of Lee Clark, and has since earned a reputation as one of the Premiership's most exciting attackers. He missed just four league matches in the 2005-06 campaign and has again been one of Fulham's key performers this season.
A full and exclusive interview with Luis, along with reaction from Alan Curbishley, will appear on whufc.com shortly…