West Ham look to Brevett to bolster their defence

West Ham have signed Fulham left-back Rufus Brevett on a two-and-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 33-year-old left-back would have been out of contract with the Cottagers in the summer after five years at the club.

The defender got out of bed at the crack of dawn on Friday to ensure he was registered in time to make his debut against Liverpool on Sunday.

Brevett passed a 5am medical and finalised his cross-London switch at lunchtime.

West Ham boss Glenn Roeder revealed Brevett would be the long-term replacement for Nigel Winterburn, who could miss the next month with a wrist injury.

"Rufus is a player we have been looking at for some time; he likes to get forward, and he is a good crosser of the ball," said Roeder.

"We all know that Nigel will unfortunately be retiring this summer, so it is a situation we have been looking to resolve - and Rufus is a player we have been looking at for some time.

"With the transfer window closing we knew we had to make a move, and Rufus will be with us for this season and the next two."