Kovac returns

West Ham United are delighted to announce the permanent signing of Czech Republic midfielder Radoslav Kovac from Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee.

He played nine times on loan for the club last season and was delighted to be back at Chadwell Heath on Friday morning as he trained with his team-mates again. Kovac had completed a medical late on Thursday before putting pen to paper on a three-year contract. It came after the club concluded positive negotiations with Spartak, where he was captain.

"I am delighted to be back," Kovac told whufc.com. "I enjoyed my time here  last season and I am very happy to get the chance to come back and compete for a place at West Ham. It is great that it is a permanent deal and that it is all sorted out. Now I can just concentrate on doing well for the club and the fans."

It is not yet clear whether the versatile 29-year-old, who scored a memorable long-range strike in the 3-1 defeat at Everton last May, will feature in the squad for Saturday's opening game of the new Barclays Premier League season at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club are still waiting to receive international clearance.

whufc.com will have full reaction to come