West Ham United’s Pedro Obiang signs a new five year contract

When I think of Pedro Obiang over the course of the previous season, the goal against Southampton stands out the most.

Apologies for the awful music - skip to about halfway through...

Sure, Obiang was a defensive juggernaut in the midfield earning himself more blocks per game than anyone in the Premier League, but he was more than that. His attitude was infectious. When he was on his game, the entire squad was too. As whufc.com pointed out:

In 46 Premier League appearances across two seasons, he has tasted defeat on just eleven occasions, winning 20 and drawing the other 15.

The big Spaniard has been on the lips of several footballing talking heads this summer as rumors of a swoop was circling overhead. Fortunately, and to the board’s credit, they fended off these Italian and Spanish raiders, and kept one of the most important pieces of the Hammer puzzle on the table.

The runner up to Hammer of the Year is back in training after suffering a terrible knee injury against Leicester earlier this year. He was sorely missed in the midfield after that injury as a rotating cast failed to keep up with his intimidating presence.

“I think here we can do many things. When I start to play, I have confidence and I don’t know why the situation changed [last season]. I had the possibility to start and to demonstrate what I wanted to demonstrate in my first season here, but for many reasons I didn’t do. Now I have time to do it.”

Read more from the club here.