Pablo Zabaleta enjoyed a hot West Ham United welcome as he kicked-off pre-season training with his new teammates.
The experienced Argentina full-back received embraces and handshakes galore as he settled into life as a Hammer at Rush Green.
The summer arrival from Manchester City spoke with manager Slaven Bilic and captain Mark Noble before joining his colleagues for a testing training session on a very warm and sunny Essex afternoon.
“My first day was fantastic,” Zabaleta told West Ham TV. “I’m so pleased to be here and I said to some of the lads that I’d never been in weather like that before in pre-season in Manchester!
“It’s really good. It’s nice to meet the players, the manager, the staff and all the people at the training ground, so I’m happy to be here. We are so happy to be all together and I feel so good after this first training session.
“That was the first time I met Slaven [in person], as I had spoken to him a few times by phone. I said the same thing to him that I said to you, that I am happy to be part of this football club and this squad."
We are so happy to be all together and I feel so good after this first training session
Pablo Zabaleta
Aside from Bilic and Noble, Zabaleta also spent time meeting as many people as possible at Rush Green, including players, coaches and backroom staff.
Many of the faces were familiar to the new No5, who has spent the last nine seasons in the Premier League, tackling the Hammers on nearly a dozen occasions.
“I have been playing in this league for nine years and I know most of the players well because we’ve been playing against each other during the last few years.
“Of course, it was nice to sit on the table, have lunch and some conversations with them. They all seem like really nice lads, so I’m pleased to be here with them.”
After a few more days of tests and training at Rush Green, the Hammers will head to Austria for a training camp, where they will work hard to increase their fitness levels ahead of the big Premier League kick-off at Manchester United on 12 August.
A week prior, they will also face Zabaleta’s former club Manchester City in Iceland in a prestige pre-season fixture, and unsurprisingly the South American cannot wait for the 2017/18 campaign to get underway.
I’ve been in Austria a few times for pre-season and we need to work hard to make sure we’re 100 per cent fit for the start of the season
Pablo Zabaleta
“I can’t wait for the start of the season now,” he confirmed. “It’s all about hard work and preparation and we are all focused on the fitness level and building up to be 100 per cent by the start of the season.
“I’ve been in Austria a few times for pre-season and we need to work hard to make sure we’re 100 per cent fit for the start of the season.
“We will play a few games, including an interesting game against Manchester City which is our final game before we start the competition, the Premier League, so it will be a good test for us.”