Pablo Zabaleta is set to become West Ham’s first signing of the summer, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster reported on their transfer centre blog on Friday (9.52am) that the Argentina international has agreed to join the Hammers after being released by Manchester City.
Sky Sports report that the right-back, 32, has agreed the terms of a two-year contract and that the transfer is close to being finalised.
This comes after the The Sun reported that West Ham have tabled an offer worth £100,000-a-week for a player regarded as a bona fide Premier League icon.
The London club’s wrap-up of the Zabaleta deal will follow an end-of-season review with manager Slaven Bilic on Monday that was conducted by co-owner David Sullivan.
Recruitment was a main talking point as the club aim to strengthen in the summer transfer window and right some of the wrongs of their wretched signings of the main 2016 window.
Zabaleta has been targeted due to his experience and pedigree, while he will not command a transfer fee after running down his City contract.
He will go down in history as one of the greatest City signings of the modern era after joining from Espanyol in 2008 for £7.4million.
The Argentine has been an integral figure in the Manchester club’s transformation into one of Europe’s elite clubs, winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups.
In total, he played 333 matches for City, scoring 11 goals and providing 28 assists, and was a mainstay during the Abu Dhabi-owned era.