Harvard Nordtveit joins West Ham on free transfer

Football Soccer - Borussia Monchengladbach Press Conference - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England - 7/12/15 Borussia Monchengladbach's Havard Nordtveit during the press conference Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff/ Livepic

REUTERS - Defensive midfielder Havard Nordtveit has joined West Ham United from German side Borussia Moenchengladbach on a free transfer, the Premier League club said on its website on Monday.

The Norwegian international, who has signed a five-year contract with the Hammers, made 41 appearances for the German side this season, helping them to a fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga.

"It has always been a dream for me to play in the Premier League and now I have a big opportunity to do that for West Ham," the 25-year-old Nordtveit, who was an academy graduate at London rivals Arsenal, told the club's website.

"I'm looking forward to showing what I can do, but hopefully I have something to help West Ham achieve even more."

Slaven Bilic's men finished seventh in the league after Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)