HAMMERS CLOSE IN ON UPSON
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West Ham are on the verge of winning the transfer deadline day battle to sign Birmingham defender Matthew Upson in a £7.5million deal.
The Barclays Premiership strugglers are understood to have been successful with their third bid to sign the want-away centre-back. City are making no official comment but sources close to the midlands club indicate the board are ready to accept the Hammers' offer. It is believed the Blues would receive an initial payment of £6.5m plus another £1m based on appearances.
Birmingham had previously rejected bids of £4m and £6m from West Ham for Upson, who has 17 months remaining on his contract. The timing of the transaction will leave Blues' boss Steve Bruce with little opportunity to find a replacement for a player who joined from Arsenal four years ago.
Upson's signing would be welcome news for the Londoners who are set to lose Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano after FIFA ruled he could join Liverpool on loan. -
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buy le wait no improvement
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Upson seals Hammers switch
By James Pearson - Created on 31 Jan 2007
West Ham United have landed Birmingham City defender Matthew Upson for an initial £6million.
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The relegation-threatened Hammers saw two bids for the 27-year-old rejected by Blues before they were able to strike a deal.
Upson, who has penned a four-and-a-half year deal at Upton Park, has become manager Alan Curbishley's sixth signing in the transfer window.
The arrival of the England international is a timely boost for the struggling East London outfit, who suffered a 2-1 home loss to Liverpool on Tuesday.
Upson, who has been capped seven times by his country, could now make his Hammers debut in the side's trip to Aston Villa this weekend.
Birmingham chairman David Gold has stated the deal was never about money and is disappointed Upson did not want to honour his contract.
"This is not and never had been about money," Gold told the Blues' official website.
"It was always about Matthew doing the right thing and honouring his contract; as we did when he was out injured for the past year.
"25 per cent of the profit on this deal goes to Arsenal, so this is not a big money deal for us. This is just simply about player power." -
good buy but has similar style of play as gabbidon so they might be fighting for places