Sinclair signs 4 year City deal

Trevor Sinclair has joined Manchester City in a £2.5m deal - finally putting an end to weeks of speculation concerning the England winger's future.

The 30-year-old midfielder becomes the second Hammer to leave Upton Park in the last fortnight, following on from Glen Johnson's £6m switch to Chelsea last week.

News of the deal will come as little surprise to Hammers supporters who always suspected Sinclair would be one of the first to leave once relegation was confirmed.

However anger at what is perceived to be a systematic dismantling of the squad will persist amongst fans still reeling from the sale of Johnson last week.

City boss Kevin Keegan, confirming the deal tonight said:

"Trevor did not take too much convincing. He is a Manchester lad, born in London but brought up in the City and hopefully he will now have plenty time to get to know his new team mates prior to our competitive games.

"I tried to sign Trevor when I was a Newcastle, it didn't come off and now ten years later I am still thrilled to have him."

Sinclair's departure means that the Hammers have now recouped the £20m shortfall incurred as a result of the club losing their Premiership status.

However in order to strengthen the squad the club still need to generate funds, which in all probability means at least one other big name is likely to be leaving Upton Park during the next few days.

High on the list of probables is Joe Cole, who has been linked with the likes of Inter Milan and Manchester United in recent days.

However should the prodigal son be allowed to leave the club the kind of angry responses witnessed at the sale of Glen Johnson are likely to pale by comparison.