He came in through the transfer window (reprise)

George McCartney has joined West Ham on a season-long loan.

The Northern Irish international, who originally signed for West Ham in August 2006 spent two years at the Boleyn Ground before being sold to current club Sunderland in a £6.5million deal - a sale that prompted the departure of former manager Alan Curbishley.

Having spent three years on Wearside, where he has made just 36 Premier League starts for the Black Cats, McCartney is now back in east London - and says he can't wait to pull on the famous claret and blue jersey once again.

"It's brilliant to be coming back," he told whufc.com this afternoon. "It will be great to be playing again for a club like West Ham. It is a big opportunity for me and I can't wait to get started again.

"I am looking forward to being part of the manager's squad and the club's push for promotion. I have got experience of the Championship; It is a tough league to be in but with the signings the manager has made already and the players already here, it is a healthy squad.

"In my eyes, it is more than capable of getting us up at the first attempt."

Whilst rarely used by Sunderland since moving to the North East in 2008, McCartney made 32 appearances for Leeds United last season in the Championship.

Although that particular spell ended badly - Leeds owner Ken Bates criticised the left-back in April for consistently arriving late for training - McCartney was a regular in the Leeds team for the entire season.

Georgie Mac, it's nice to see you back: Career stats

1998-2006: Sunderland - 135 starts (22 sub), 0 goals
2006-2008: West Ham Utd - 64 starts (7 sub), 1 goals
2008-2010: Sunderland - 40 starts (6 sub), 0 goals
2010-2011: Leeds Utd - 32 starts, 0 subs, 0 goals