West Ham have confirmed the signing of free agent and former Fulham striker Mladen Petric until the end of the season.
The 32-year-old Croatian international made his name playing for Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg before spending last season in the Premier League with The Cottagers.
And the Hammers have brought have back to the top-flight of English football – after Fulham released him at the end of last season – to act as cover while club-record Andy Carroll remains sidelined with a new foot injury.
He told whufc.com: “I’m very happy, excited and looking forward to training with the team and to the first game.
“I’m happy to be back in the Premier League because it’s a fantastic league and I’m really looking forward to being part of this and this club.
“There are a lot of good players here and I’m happy to be part of such a good team and I hope we can all celebrate my first goal for West Ham as soon as possible.”
And Petric knows exactly what to expect from the Upton Park faithful after being on the losing side here last season when he visited with Fulham.
“I remember playing at West Ham last year and it was a very tough game for us at Fulham,” he added.
“I think we lost 3-0! It’s not easy to come here and take points away.”
Petric earned a move to Borussia Dortmund in 2007 after scoring 38 goals in 72 league games for FC Basel in Switzerland. He spent just a single season at Dortmund, scoring 13 Bundesliga goals in 29 appearances before signing for Hamburg, where he bagged another 38 goals in 99 league appearances.
The forward then joined Martin Jol’s Fulham on a one-year deal at the beginning of last season, managing five goals in 23 Premier League outings.