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West Ham United have signed Italian striker Simone Zaza from Juventus on a season-long loan for an initial fee of five million pounds (Dh 4. million), the Premier League club said on Sunday.
Zaza scored five Serie A goals in 19 games last season and also struck Juve’s winner in their friendly win over West Ham at the London Stadium earlier this month. The 25-year-old was in Italy squad for Euro 2016.
A permanent fee of 20 million pounds will be automatically triggered if the striker makes a certain number of Premier League appearances this season, plus a further three million pounds in contingent payments, the East London club said.
"I want to thank everyone for welcoming me ... I wanted to start a new experience and I feel this is the right choice for me," Zaza told the club's website.
“I have been fortunate enough to have already played at the new stadium with a different shirt. It is a beautiful stadium and I felt the warmth of the fans and this was a big reason why I wanted to join the club.”
West Ham, who failed to make the Europa League group stage for the second year in a row after being eliminated by Astra Giurgiu, face Manchester City away in the league later on Sunday.
* Reuters
Sporting’s Joao Mario to Inter for record
Portugal’s international midfielder Joao Mario has joined Inter Milan from Sporting Lisbon for a record 45 million euros (Dh21.7 million), the Lisbon club announced.
In a statement the club said Saturday the deal was “the record figure for a transfer of a Portuguese premier division player,” exceeding previous deals for Renato Sanches, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho and Fabio Coentrao.
Mario, 23, an attacking midfielder, helped Portugal to win the European Championship in France in July and has been capped 18 times for his country.
* Agence France-Presse
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