West Ham United have this morning confirmed the signing of Aston Villa’s James Collins.
The centre back has returned to the club that he played for between 2005 and 2009, signing a 4 year contract to take him through to the summer of 2016.
In his first spell at the club Collins was signed in a £3.5 million deal from Cardiff that also included his centre back partner Danny Gabbidon, though Collins initially struggled to break through whilst Gabbidon settled into the first team alongside Matthew Upson.
Eventually he got his opportunity at the club and began to show the talent that many suspected he had, improving West Ham’s defence immensely. He accumulated a total of 54 appearances in his four years at the club, with his departure contributing to West Ham’s gradual decline towards the relegation zone, narrowly avoiding the drop in the 2009/10 season before the inevitable fall from grace in 2010/11.
West Ham’s loss was Aston Villa’s gain and Collins soon found himself forming an effective central partnership alongside Richard Dunne, helping Villa to a League Cup final and FA Cup Semi-Final in his first season. Collins remained an ever present figure for the Villans over his time at the club but Lambert’s appointment has brought around a mass overhaul of the playing staff.
The writing was on the wall when Villa confirmed the signing of Dutch international defender Ron Vlaar from Feyenoord, with Collins said to be unwilling to take on a lesser role in the side.
He now moves back to the Boleyn Ground to restart his West Ham career, providing valuable central defensive competition to Winston Reed and James Tomkins.
At £2.5 million, West Ham have picked up a player with bags of experience and the professional attitude that will be vital in keeping them up in the Premier League this year.
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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