He may divide opinion among West Ham United fans but former striker Jermain Defoe has been talking about Ryan Fredericks’ move to the club in glowing terms.
Ryan Fredericks became Manuel Pellegrini’s first signing as West Ham manager after swapping West for East London on a free transfer from Fulham.
The pacy right back was signed a four-year deal with the Hammers and will officially join West Ham from July 1.
The 25-year-old is widely considered to be an excellent piece of business by West Ham after he helped Fulham to promotion and was named in the EFL Championship team to the year.
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Former West Ham striker Jermain Defoe agrees with that train of thought having trained alongside Fredericks when he was a young emerging talent at Tottenham.
And the Bournemouth star revealed on Sky Sports he sent him a text message after he signed for the Hammers while delivering an emphatic verdict on the player and the move.
“I was at Tottenham with Ryan when he was really young, he’s someone that’s impressed me,” Defoe told Sky Sports.
“He’s got good energy, I’ve just been watching his progression to be honest and obviously as soon as he signed for West Ham, I sent him a personal message on Instagram saying ‘Well done, I’ve been watching you, you’ve done well, I’m happy for you’.
“He messaged back saying ‘Thanks JD that means a lot’ and I said ‘I want to see you in the England squad in the next year or two’.”
And Defoe says West Ham was the right move for Fredericks, telling Hammers fans they are in for a treat as he likened the right back to Manchester City and England star Kyle Walker.
“West Ham is a big club, a fantastic stadium, when the club’s doing well there’s some fantastic support and I think he can cope with that, he’s that sort of character you know he’s confident.
“He’s really impressed me, his movement, his energy, he reminds me of Kyle Walker a little bit that sort of style, he’s got massive potential.”
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