West Ham set to sign Nsereko

West Ham United are set to announce the signing of Brescia striker Savio Nsereko for a new club record, according to BBC Sport.

Although the fee has not yet been revealed for the Ugandan born player, it is expected to top the previous record of £7.5 million which was paid for former striker Craig Bellamy who joined Manchester City last week.

Nsereko is likely to be a direct replacement for Bellamy and could make his debut in the Hammers upcoming Premier League game against Hull on Wednesday.

West Ham technical director Gianluca Nani worked with German Under-19 star during his time at Brescia and both Nani and Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola are said to rate the striker in the highest regard.

Nsereko was born in Uganda however the striker chose to represent his adoptive country of Germany for international football and was named player of the tournament at last year’s Uefa Under-19 Championship, which was won by Germany.

Meanwhile, West Ham today announced the departure of midfielder Hayden Mullins to Portsmouth for a fee of £3 million. Mullins joined the Hammers for £800,000 from Crystal Palace in 2003 and made over 175 appearances at Upton Park.

Mullins, who came on as substitute in a 2-0 FA Cup victory over Hartlepool that set up a fifth-round tie at home to Middlesbrough, said: “I enjoyed my time at West Ham but I thought maybe it was time for a change.”