Ruud Boffin is ready to take the next step in his career and prove himself at West Ham United.
The 22-year-old Belgian has received promising notices as an emerging shot-stopper in Dutch football, spending the latter part of last season at Eredivisie outfit VVV-Venlo on loan from MVV Maastricht. He headed to Chadwell Heath for a short trial earlier this summer - including a reserve-team run-out - and was subsequently signed on a two-year contract on deadline day.
"I am very happy to be here," said the club's towering new No31, who was impressive in the 1-0 reserve friendly win against Leicester City on Tuesday. "It is a great opportunity for me to come and play here.
"I had been training here before at Chadwell Heath. I was here for four days and I had a game. Things then happened very quickly on the day I signed and we had just two and a half hours for the paperwork. I had to wait until the last day but it all happened."
Boffin will provide competition for Robert Green and Marek Stech, and is hoping to settle quickly in order to give himself the best chance to make an impact. "For me it is no problem to move to London. It is a great city and also my wife and my six-week-old boy are going to come here and live with me. I am in a hotel now so it is not so good for them but we will all settle quickly."
"I like the atmosphere here and it is a very nice group. I will learn a lot from playing with Robert and under [goalkeeping coach] David Coles. It is going to be a big challenge for me but I am ready."