West Ham United have tonight completed the signing of
Scottish international midfielder Nigel Quashie from West Bromwich
Albion for a fee of £1.5million.
The 28-year-old has agreed a three-and-a-half year contract at Upton Park to become Alan Curbishley's second signing as Hammers manager following the arrival of Luis Boa Morte on Friday, and will go straight into the squad for our Premiership encounter against Fulham at Upton Park on Saturday.
The transfer signals a return to his London roots for Nigel. Born in Nunhead, near Peckham, in July 1978, he started his career with Queens Park Rangers and made his professional debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the tender age of 17 in December 1995.
After several impressive performances for Rangers, Nigel earned a call-up to the England under-21 squad, before making a £2.5million move to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1998. However, his first season at the City Ground ended in relegation from the Premiership and, after failing to win promotion back to the top flight the following year, he joined Portsmouth for £600,000 in the summer of 2000.
After establishing himself at Fratton Park and playing a key role in Pompey's First Division Championship triumph in 2003 and subsequent success in retaining their newly-acquired Premiership status, Nigel took advantage of a new FIFA ruling, enabling him to accept the opportunity of full international recognition with Scotland, despite wearing the Three Lions of England as an under-21 player.
He made his full debut against Estonia in May 2004 and followed that up with his first goal for his country in a 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago just three days later. He currently has 14 full international caps to his name - the last of which came in a crucial 2-1 Euro 2008 qualifying victory over Lithuania in September.
In January 2005, Nigel was snapped up by his former Pompey manager Harry Redknapp - by now at South Coast rivals Southampton - for a fee of £2.1million. He soon became club captain, but spent just 12 months at St Mary's before making a £1.2million move to West Bromwich Albion.
This season, he has played an integral part in helping the Baggies to reach the play-off places in the Championship as they look to bounce straight back to the Premiership, and will now face a battle of a different kind as Hammers aim to move clear from the top flight relegation zone.
A full and exclusive interview with Nigel, along with reaction from Alan Curbishley, will appear on whufc.com later…
The 28-year-old has agreed a three-and-a-half year contract at Upton Park to become Alan Curbishley's second signing as Hammers manager following the arrival of Luis Boa Morte on Friday, and will go straight into the squad for our Premiership encounter against Fulham at Upton Park on Saturday.
The transfer signals a return to his London roots for Nigel. Born in Nunhead, near Peckham, in July 1978, he started his career with Queens Park Rangers and made his professional debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the tender age of 17 in December 1995.
After several impressive performances for Rangers, Nigel earned a call-up to the England under-21 squad, before making a £2.5million move to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1998. However, his first season at the City Ground ended in relegation from the Premiership and, after failing to win promotion back to the top flight the following year, he joined Portsmouth for £600,000 in the summer of 2000.
After establishing himself at Fratton Park and playing a key role in Pompey's First Division Championship triumph in 2003 and subsequent success in retaining their newly-acquired Premiership status, Nigel took advantage of a new FIFA ruling, enabling him to accept the opportunity of full international recognition with Scotland, despite wearing the Three Lions of England as an under-21 player.
He made his full debut against Estonia in May 2004 and followed that up with his first goal for his country in a 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago just three days later. He currently has 14 full international caps to his name - the last of which came in a crucial 2-1 Euro 2008 qualifying victory over Lithuania in September.
In January 2005, Nigel was snapped up by his former Pompey manager Harry Redknapp - by now at South Coast rivals Southampton - for a fee of £2.1million. He soon became club captain, but spent just 12 months at St Mary's before making a £1.2million move to West Bromwich Albion.
This season, he has played an integral part in helping the Baggies to reach the play-off places in the Championship as they look to bounce straight back to the Premiership, and will now face a battle of a different kind as Hammers aim to move clear from the top flight relegation zone.
A full and exclusive interview with Nigel, along with reaction from Alan Curbishley, will appear on whufc.com later…