Former Hammer Fabian Balbuena has been speaking to the Athletic about his time at West Ham saying “‘I know it’s about hooliganism but watching Green Street helped me settle in and learn English’
Balbuena spent three years in east London, during which time he made 62 appearances at the heart of defence. He also scored three goals.
The Hammers spent around £6.5m to sign the Paraguay international from Corinthians and it’s fair to say he has paid a fair bit of that fee back with his performances over the past few years before his depature. The central defender’s contract expired on June 30 and he became a free agent.
Balbuena insists that he only has good memories of his time at West Ham. The former central defender was linked for a move to Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Beits for a time before making a surprise switch to Dynamo Moscow.
He had enjoyed a decent first season where as a partner to Issa Diop he looked business but fell out of favour under the newly appointed Moyes regime following the Chilean manager’s departure.
“I take my time at West Ham as very positive because of the experience and knowledge I learnt there. I was always at the coach’s disposal.” he said when leaving.