West Ham have confirmed that they are
interested in signing Ghana star Stephen Appiah.
The 27-year-old is a free agent after leaving Turkish giants
Fenerbahce earlier this summer.
The Hammers have been long-term admirers of Appiah, but a host
of clubs including Arsenal, Portsmouth, Bayern Munich and Schalke
have all expressed an interest.
Appiah has revealed that he is hoping to finalise his future
this week and West Ham's sporting director Gianluca Nani has
confirmed his club's interest.
"He's a great player," Nani told Radio Radio.
"He has had some injury problems but I will not say anything
else as a matter of privacy."
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has reiterated his desire to land
Appiah.
"I'd love to sign Appiah and we are interested in him but
there's nothing going on really at the moment," Redknapp told the
Portsmouth News.
"It's going to be tough to get him - there are a lot of clubs
chasing him, clubs like West Ham and Arsenal, which you expect
because he's a free agent.
"He's a terrific player for somebody on a free," added
Redknapp.
"I've asked about him in the past. I watched him plenty of times
when I was looking at Sulley Muntari and they played together for
Ghana.
"He's a top player but I already wanted Sulley and couldn't have
both of them.
"Appiah's a fantastic footballer, he's an athlete, has a great
engine, works hard and is the captain of Ghana. A lot of teams
would love to sign him.
'There's a chance we might get him, like I say, we are
interested in him. We'll just have to see what happens.
"But there is a lot of competition out there which you expect
for a very, very good player like that."