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- Feb 11, 2007
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West Ham complete Nsereko signing
By Simon Austin
BBC Sports
Nsereko was player of the tournament at the Uefa U19 Championships
By Simon Austin
BBC Sports
Nsereko was player of the tournament at the Uefa U19 Championships
West Ham are set to announce the signing of 19-year-old Brescia striker Savio Nsereko.
The Uganda-born German will be a direct replacement for Craig Bellamy, who moved to Manchester City last week.
The fee for Nsereko has not been revealed but it is expected to be a club record, topping the £7.5m West Ham paid Liverpool for Bellamy in 2007.
Hammers technical director Gianluca Nani worked with the Germany Under-19 international when he was at Brescia.
The forward can play in a variety of attacking positions and was named player of the tournament at last year's Uefa Under-19 Championship in the Czech Republic, which was won by Germany.
He was also reported to have attracted interest from Italian giants Roma and Juventus. The boy must be good, because Gianluca Nani has a good eye for talent
Nsereko has scored three goals in 17 appearances for Serie B side Brescia this season.
His signing will reassure fans who had feared the Londoners would only be a selling club during the January transfer window.
Owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson has been beset by financial problems in recent months and is considering selling the club.
But other than Bellamy, who was determined to leave Upton Park, West Ham have only sold fringe players Matthew Etherington, Lee Bowyer and Hayden Mullins.
Meanwhile, both the Hammers and Juventus have quashed speculation that Carlton Cole could be about to move from east London to Turin.
"We are very happy with the players we have in the team and we will not make any moves in the January transfer market," said Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco.