The Hammers midfielder has swapped the Premier League for Serie A in a deal thought to be worth around €9 million
Pedro Obiang has left West Ham for Serie A side Sassuolo in a deal reportedly worth €9 million (£8m/$10m).
Obiang, 27, joined the Hammers from Sampdoria in 2015 after showing potential in Italy, but he has been unable to hold down a first-team spot in the Premier League.
Although the Spain-born Equatorial Guinea international played 24 times in the league last term, only 12 of those outings were as a starter and he has opted for a return to Serie A.
Obiang reportedly secured a four-year deal, though Sassuolo did not confirm the length of his contract or the fee paid to sign him.
Hammers fans will best remember Obiang for his Goal of the Season contender against Tottenham back in January 2018, a searing right-footed strike into the top-left corner from range back in Spurs’ time at Wembley.
It was one of only three goals he scored in all competitions for the club in more than 100 appearances, the same total he notched in his last season in Italian football with Sampdoria.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have had an impressive transfer window so far following the early disappointment of Marko Arnautovic’s long-awaited big-money move to China.
Prolific centre-forward Sebastien Haller has been brought in from Eintracht Frankfurt alonside Pablo Fornals, the exciting Spanish playmaker signed from Villarreal.
Their impressive work in the transfer market this summer has seen the Hammers tipped by some as this year’s surprise package in the Premier League.
They will be looking to improve on last year’s tenth-place finish though the likes of Wolves, Everton and Leicester – the three sides that finished immediately above them last season – are also fancied to make an impact again.
Obiang’s new club Sassuolo, meanwhile, will celebrate their centenary at the end of the 2019-20 season and will hope to mark the occasion with another solid showing in Serie A.
They finished just a single point off the top half in eleventh last season and have already been busy in the transfer window.
Manuel Locatelli, Francesco Caputo, Rogerio and Marco Sala have already been brought in on permanent deals with Matteo Politano and Merih Demiral leaving for Inter and Juventus respectively.
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