West Ham United have signed Testimonial penalty shootout hero Robert Hatton on a two-year contract
West Ham United are delighted to confirm the signing of goalkeeper Robert Hatton on a permanent two-year contract.
Hatton has joined the Hammers until summer 2018 after saving three penalties in the shootout which followed Mark Noble’s Testimonial on Easter Monday.
A long-time friend of captain Noble, Sunday League stopper and carpentry project manager Hatton has been handed the No31 shirt and is expected to go straight into Slaven Bilic’s first-team squad for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace.
“I cannot believe it!” said Hatton. “When Nobes asked me to play in the Testimonial, I expected to play about five minutes at the end, but now I’ve got a contract with West Ham and I’ve become a professional footballer!
“I’ll have to give up my day job now, and my boss won’t be happy, but this is an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. I’ll need to buy some new gloves for Saturday, because my old pair are a bit worn out and wouldn’t look great on Match of the Day!”
Having excelled in front of 35,000 fans, Bilic had no hesitation in snapping up the former Newham FC and Ilford FC goalkeeper.
“Robert was brilliant!” said the manager. “We had so many star goalkeepers on the pitch in the Testimonial with Adrian, David James, Ludo Miklosko and Jimmy Walker, and Raphael Spiegel made some very good saves, but Robert’s performance stole the show.
“In the shootout, I had to ask my staff who he was, because his anticipation and spring off his line were top-class. He made some difficult saves from some top, top players look very easy.
“It has happened before with Michail Antonio that we have a player who was in the non-league for a long time and is now in the Premier League, so for sure it could happen again with Robert.”
Noble admits he is surprised by the news but understands why Bilic has brought his old friend into the West Ham squad on a full-time basis.
The skipper said: “To be honest I can't believe it. He plays Sunday League now and he has been a close friend since we were young kids.
“For him to get a two-year deal out of a Testimonial, I am still in shock. The manager said to me that your friend looked really good the other day. He has always been good at saving penalties.
“The manager likes to take three goalkeepers with him every game and he wants to have him around the place in case anything happens. The only thing I am gutted about is that I have got to see a lot more of him!”
Having been allowed to leave his current job without working a notice period, Hatton will join Adrian and Darren Randolph in training later today, when you will be able to hear more from the Hammers' new stopper himself on West Ham TV.
Hatton has joined the Hammers until summer 2018 after saving three penalties in the shootout which followed Mark Noble’s Testimonial on Easter Monday.
A long-time friend of captain Noble, Sunday League stopper and carpentry project manager Hatton has been handed the No31 shirt and is expected to go straight into Slaven Bilic’s first-team squad for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace.
“I cannot believe it!” said Hatton. “When Nobes asked me to play in the Testimonial, I expected to play about five minutes at the end, but now I’ve got a contract with West Ham and I’ve become a professional footballer!
“I’ll have to give up my day job now, and my boss won’t be happy, but this is an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. I’ll need to buy some new gloves for Saturday, because my old pair are a bit worn out and wouldn’t look great on Match of the Day!”
Having excelled in front of 35,000 fans, Bilic had no hesitation in snapping up the former Newham FC and Ilford FC goalkeeper.
“Robert was brilliant!” said the manager. “We had so many star goalkeepers on the pitch in the Testimonial with Adrian, David James, Ludo Miklosko and Jimmy Walker, and Raphael Spiegel made some very good saves, but Robert’s performance stole the show.
“In the shootout, I had to ask my staff who he was, because his anticipation and spring off his line were top-class. He made some difficult saves from some top, top players look very easy.
“It has happened before with Michail Antonio that we have a player who was in the non-league for a long time and is now in the Premier League, so for sure it could happen again with Robert.”
Noble admits he is surprised by the news but understands why Bilic has brought his old friend into the West Ham squad on a full-time basis.
The skipper said: “To be honest I can't believe it. He plays Sunday League now and he has been a close friend since we were young kids.
“For him to get a two-year deal out of a Testimonial, I am still in shock. The manager said to me that your friend looked really good the other day. He has always been good at saving penalties.
“The manager likes to take three goalkeepers with him every game and he wants to have him around the place in case anything happens. The only thing I am gutted about is that I have got to see a lot more of him!”
Having been allowed to leave his current job without working a notice period, Hatton will join Adrian and Darren Randolph in training later today, when you will be able to hear more from the Hammers' new stopper himself on West Ham TV.