Hammers swoop for Kiwi World Cup star

West Ham have completed the signing of New Zealand defender Winston Reid for an undisclosed fee from Danish outfit FC Midtjylland. Reid, one of the stars of his country's unbeaten World Cup campaign, has joined on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.The 22-year-old, who passed a medical on Thursday, is the Hammers' fifth summer signing, following in the footsteps of Thomas Hitzlsperger, Pablo Barrera, Frederic Piquionne and Tal Ben Haim.Reid, who can play centre-half or right-back, put himself in the shop window this summer when he scored a dramatic late equaliser in New Zealand's World Cup opener against Slovakia.He also helped his country secure impressive draws with Italy and Paraguay but those results were not enough to see them progress to the last 16.He spent the last five seasons with Midtjylland and cannot wait to test himself in the Premier League."I am looking forward to getting started," he told the Hammers' website."My dream has been to come and play in the Premier League and I am happy that I am a West Ham player."It has been a mad couple of weeks and the last couple of days have been pretty hectic, so I am just happy to be here now. I am pretty decent fitness-wise. I had a game last Sunday so I am in pretty good nick."Reid, who is of Maori heritage, moved to Denmark at the age of 10 and represented them up to under-21 level before switching allegiance to his native New Zealand shortly before the World Cup.He added: "The World Cup was a life-changing experience and something I will remember forever."I want to bring the positives from that here on the pitch at West Ham."This club has great history and the league is one of the best in the world. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead."

Source: Team_Talk