Stoke swoop for Upson

Stoke City have signed England defender Matthew Upson from Championship club West Ham.

The Potters have handed the former Hammer a two-year deal at the Britannia Stadium, after the 32-year-old was released on a free transfer following the London club’s descent into the English second tier.

Upson will be available for Stoke’s Europa League play-off first leg against Swiss outfit FC Thun next Wednesday, and the former Luton Town, Arsenal and Birmingham player is expecting a battle to cement his place in Tony Pulis’ XI.

“There is a lot of competition for places here and that is part of the attraction,” Upson told Stoke’s official website..

“I will relish the fight for a spot because it draws the best out of players.”

“The manager has talked to me about the culture here, the discipline and the organisation, and that is an environment I am looking forward to working in.”

Pulis said the signing – along with that of former Tottenham centre-back Jonathan Woodgate – would shore up City’s defence ahead of their busy schedule this season.

“This is another fantastic deal for this football club when you consider the quality and experience of the lad and the fact that he is a free transfer,” Pulis said.

“We now have strength in depth in our defence with both Matthew and Jonathan on board and we’ve managed to achieve that without a significant outlay on transfer fees, which is quite remarkable in today’s market of vastly inflated prices.”

Upson made 131 appearances for West Ham, and has 21 caps for England including two starts at last year’s World Cup in South Africa, which included a goal against Germany in the round-of-16.