West Ham United's new manager Avram Grant has made his first signing after bringing in Thomas Hitzlsperger on a three-year contract. Hitzlsperger has spent the past six months with Lazio, but the former Aston Villa midfielder has agreed to return to the Premier League with West Ham.
The 28-year-old only joined Lazio in January from Stuttgart after his contract with the Bundesliga club was cancelled to give Hitzlsperger a better chance of making Germany's World Cup.
However, despite his switch to Serie A, the ex-Bayern Munich youngster was unable to claim a place in Germany coach Joachim Low's 23-man squad for the finals in South Africa.
He will now turn his focus to his club career after accepting the opportunity to play in England for the second time.
During five years on the books of Villa, Hitzlsperger scored 12 goals in 114 appearances before leaving for Stuttgart in 2005.
Hitzlsperger is likely to be the first of several fresh faces to arrive at Upton Park over the summer months following Grant's appointment as manager.
Grant has been tipped to raid his former club Portsmouth for some players, while the likes of Thierry Henry and David Beckham have also been linked with moves to West Ham.
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