West Ham complete signing of Serbia U19 striker Luka Belic from OFK Beograd to boost development squad

  • West Ham have announced the signing of Luka Belic on a one-year deal 
  • The Serbia U19 international moves to the Hammers from OFK Beograd 
  • Belic says it is a 'dream come true' and he is 'already loving it' in London 
  • Striker Belic will play for Terry Westley's development squad this season 

By Ben Nagle for MailOnline

Published: 08:47 EST, 13 September 2015 | Updated: 08:52 EST, 13 September 2015

West Ham have completed the signing of Serbia Under 19 striker Luka Belic from OFK Beograd on a permanent deal.

The move, which is subject to international clearance, sees Belic move away from his native Serbia to join Terry Westley's development squad at Upton Park on a one-year deal.

Speaking to the Hammers' official website, Belic said: 'It's a dream come true for me and I'm looking forward to playing games and scoring a lot of goals. I'm already loving it here. 

West Ham have completed the signing of Serbia U19 striker Luka Belic from OFK Beograd on a one-year deal

West Ham have completed the signing of Serbia U19 striker Luka Belic from OFK Beograd on a one-year deal

'I'm going to go step by step, work hard and play well for the U21s. I'm looking forward, firstly, to playing for the U21s and then, hopefully, my dream is to one day play for the first team.

'I think it's going to be great here at West Ham. They're going to help me a lot and I plan to help the team a lot too.'

Belic, although an unknown prospect to most, has been capped by Serbia's different age levels throughout his youth career, and became the youngest player to feature in Serbia's top flight when he was just 16, in April 2012.

Belic signs his one-year contract at West Ham (above)... he will join Terry Westley's development squad

Belic signs his one-year contract at West Ham (above)... he will join Terry Westley's development squad

West Ham's Head of Academy Recruitment Dave Hunt said: 'He's an exciting signing for us in the forward department. He'll go into the Development Squad, hopefully prove himself in there and then climb as high as we're looking for from him. 

'We hope to see him in the future pushing for first team opportunities. We'd watched him a few times, he's enthusiastic, he works really hard out of possession for the team and is a good finisher.

'He presses from the front really well, always looking to search in behind. His work-rate and desire to get in behind and get on the ball is exceptional and he's been impressive in the time that we've seen him.' 

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