West Ham sign Taricco from Spurs

Taricco has spent 10 years playing in England

West Ham have signed Argentine defender Mauricio Taricco on a free transfer from Tottenham.

The left-back goes straight into the Hammers' squad for their Championship game at Millwall on Sunday.

"He's a proper West Ham player," said Hammers' boss Alan Pardew. "He has a bit of grit, he's a winner, and I've been after him for a while."

The 31-year-old joined Ipswich from Argentinos Juniors in 1994 and signed for Spurs for £1.75m in November 1998.

Taricco said: "I knew that there wasn't a way back for me at Spurs.

"It has been a hard few months for me there, and I needed a change.

"I have to thank West Ham for extending their hand to me and for giving me this chance.

"Now it's up to me to do my best and to repay them."

Taricco was bought by George Graham and a regular in the Tottenham team under Glenn Hoddle and David Pleat.

But the Argentine did not figure in the plans of recently departed manager Jacques Santini and was strongly linked with West Ham and Crystal Palace in the summer.

Taricco missed the start of the season through injury and did not feature in the first team once he was available.