West Ham United were delighted to snap up Iceland Under-21 central defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson in July 2008 on a long-term contract from HK Kopavogur.

He had first spent a week on trial at Chadwell Heath in the previous February having caught the eye as he rapidly rose through the Icelandic youth ranks. Eyjolfsson, who has featured regularly for HK since making his debut at the age of 16, has long attracted the attention of some of Europe's leading clubs but was delighted to make the switch to join Alan Curbishley's squad.

Eyjolfsson made his competitive debut at U21 level in November 2007 and had an instant impact, helping Iceland to their first win of the 2009 European Championship campaign with a 2-1 success in Belgium. Capped previously at U16 and U17 level, Eyjolfsson was a star man at the 2007 European U17 Championship and although Iceland failed to make it beyond the group stage was named by UEFA as one of the players to watch in future. Those finals in Belgium also saw him show his versatility as he played in a holding midfield role, although he prefers to play at the back.

His father Eyjólfur Gjafar Sverrisson is a former Icelandic international who was capped 66 times by his country and enjoyed an illustrious playing career with Stuttgart, Besiktas and Hertha Berlin. In the Bundesliga alone, he played 251 games and scored 30 goals. He also went on to have a spell in charge of the Iceland team and, like his son, could play in both defence and midfield.