Charged

Manuel Da Costa has been charged with assault following an incident in an Essex nightclub last October.

The 24-year-old defender was arrested after he was alleged to have assaulted two female partygoers at Faces nightspot in Ilford.

An eye-witness reported that the Portuguese centre half - whose last game in claret and blue came a fortnight after his initial detainment on October 17th - went 'berserk' inside the club.

Today it was confirmed that Da Costa had been hit with two charges of common assault and sexual assault on a woman. He will appear at Redbridge Magistrates Court on January 25th.

The former PSV player arrived at West Ham in August 2009 as part of the deal that took flop Savio Nsereko to Fiorentina.

Having struggled initially to adjust to the pace of the English game, Da Costa began to appear more regularly in the first team, often receiving positive reviews.

But with the Crown Prosecution Service having deemed his case worthy of pursuing, it may well be that the player has kicked his last ball for West Ham United.

If found guilty, West Ham's supporters will almost certainly demand it.