Rough diamond
Diamanti departs
West Ham United can confirm the transfer of Alessandro Diamanti to Serie A newcomers Brescia Calcio for €2.2m.
The 27-year-old Italian attacker made 29 appearances in all competitions and scored eight goals in the 2009/10 season – with half of them coming from the penalty spot. He was then a substitute in the first match of the new season away to Aston Villa ten days ago before travelling back to his homeland for transfer talks at the weekend.
This Saturday would have marked a year since Diamanti arrived at the club for an undisclosed fee from AS Livorno Calcio but he had indicated he wanted to return to Italy. The sale also releases space in the squad for another player to be brought in as the club is restricted to 25 players over 21, of which only 17 can be non-homegrown.
Diamanti faced stiff competition for a first-team place under Avram Grant with the arrivals of Pablo Barrera, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Frederic Piquionne. Should Brescia secure their Serie A status for the coming campaign, then another €300,000 will be payable to the club.
The Hammers have also added Tal Ben Haim and Winston Reid to the squad this summer and could unveil more exciting new faces before the transfer window shuts a week today. All at West Ham United would like to wish Alessandro well for the future and thank him for his efforts in his year at the club.
The Boleyn Inheritance 