Tal signs, more to come

West Ham United are delighted to announce the loan signing of Israel defender Tal Ben Haim and can confirm the club are close to securing another international player.

Ben Haim is the fourth new face in Avram Grant's squad in what has been a busy summer of arrivals. He is an experienced centre-back with a strong character. He can play across the back four and will provide top-level competition for the club's existing defenders.

This summer, the Hammers have also captured Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, Mexico winger Pablo Barrera and France forward Frederic Piquionne and, crucially, ensured key players like Robert Green and Scott Parker remain.

With the ink barely dry on Ben Haim's contract, club officials stepped up their bid to secure a fifth signing this close-season and hope to have the deal finalised within the next 72 hours. The potential recruit is a young international, who represented his country with distinction at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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Ben Haim has joined the Hammers on loan until January from npower Championship side Portsmouth. The move sees him reunited with Grant, who he previously played under for Chelsea, Portsmouth and Israel. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a successful career in both Israeli and English football, while also earning more than 50 caps for his country.

During his time at Chelsea, the club finished as runners-up in the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and League Cup while Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final while he was at the south-coast side last season.

Fans should return to whufc.com as the official club website will be the place to hear all the summer transfer news first and fastest. Hammers mobile text alert subscribers will also receive all the summer news first. Click here to sign up so you can make sure you stay in touch wherever you are this summer.

You can also keep in touch via the club's hugely popular official Facebook page, with nearly 60,000 Hammers fans now connecting with the club via the social networking site. The club's official page was only launched last month but every day more and more are signing up to share their opinions and also get all the latest info from behind the scenes.