Edvin Austbø Joins West Ham United on Four-Year Deal

Edvin Austbø has completed his move to West Ham United, signing a four-year deal at the London Stadium with an option for a further year, as the club continues to arm itself for a promotion push back to the Premier League.

The 21-year-old Norwegian forward will wear the No 35 shirt and arrives with a clear sense of what this step means for his career.

“It feels really good to be a Hammer,” he said. “Ever since I knew about the interest, I wanted to come here and have butterflies and am really looking forward to start playing for this amazing club.

“Obviously, the ambitions of the club are big and it's also for me as a player.

“The talks I had with Nuno and Nils Koppen were amazing and I just felt from the start that this was a good match and that I really wanted to come here.

“I watched English football on TV when I was a little kid. Everyone in Norway knows West Ham. It's such a big club and a club that belongs on the highest level in England.”

For a player who grew up with English football on the screen, West Ham is not an anonymous badge. It is history, noise, claret and blue – and, right now, a project built around the urgency of returning to the top flight.

Nils Koppen, West Ham’s Director of Player Recruitment, made it clear this was no opportunistic swoop.

“Edvin is a player we have tracked closely for some time and we are very happy to bring him to West Ham United,” Koppen said.

“He has made very impressive progress and built strong experience in Norway, and there has been a lot of interest in him across Europe.

“We believe he has the right attributes, strengths and potential to be successful in English football. He is a quick, energetic and intelligent player, who will bring another positive option to our attacking profile.

“Edvin is highly motivated to take this next step in his career, and everyone here at the Club will do everything we can to help him to settle in as quickly as possible.”

West Ham want goals, energy and a front line that can carry them through a gruelling Championship campaign. Austbø arrives as part of that answer, stepping into English football with the conviction that the club he watched as a boy is the place where his next leap should come.