Jose Fonte has only been training with his West Ham team-mates for a week but Darren Randolph has already seen his leadership qualities in the flesh.
West Ham completed the £8million signing of the Portuguese international last Friday with Fonte subsequently joining his new team-mate’s at Rush Green on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old former Southampton defender brings a wealth of experience to a West Ham defence that is slowly recovering from its creaking start to the season and Randolph is convinced Fonte will prove to be an astute buy.
“Jose is a great addition to the squad,” Randolph told the West Ham site. “He has a lot of experience and it can only be a good thing having him in the squad, especially as we are playing so well at the moment.
“It is only going to add to the quality that we have and to the squad as well. I have already seen in training that he is a leader. He is loud and vocal and organises well. It should be a good addition.”
Fonte is expected to go straight into the West Ham starting lineup for Wednesday’s Premier League clash against Manchester City with Angelo Ogbonna ruled out for the rest of the season to undergo surgery on a long-standing knee injury.