Transfers of Tuesday, 1 August 2006

Source: BBC

West Ham sign defender Paintsil

West Ham have signed Ghana defender John Paintsil from Hapoel Tel Aviv for a fee that could rise to ?1m.

The 25-year-old signed a four-year contract after impressing manager Alan Pardew in a trial spell.

A right-back who can also play in central defence, Paintsil played in all four of Ghana's games at this year's World Cup.

Paintsil's agent Jacky Mouyal said: "West Ham is his first choice. He likes the team and they like him."

He added: "The player is very happy. The team are very good, the coach is very good. He is very happy in the city and he saw the stadium yesterday."

Pardew has been looking for a right-back all summer after Lionel Scaloni's loan spell came to an end