New deal for Freddie

Former West Ham striker Freddie Sears has signed a three-year contract with League One side Colchester United.

Sears, who agreed to have his West Ham contract terminated last week spent the latter half of the 2011/12 campaign on loan at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, where he scored two goals in 11 appearances (six of which came as a substitute).

And less than a week after leaving West Ham - for whom he had played since the tender age of 11 - Sears, now 22, has put pen to paper on a permanent deal with the Us.

Colchester manager John Ward told cu-fc.com: "We are delighted to have Freddie on board and I think that three years is a commitment from him to us and what we are trying to achieve here.

"He wants to do it with us and that's a massive thing. As soon as he was released from West Ham, Freddie wanted to come here and I was wanting him to come.

"I think it's a great deal for the supporters particularly and the club in general. We are really pleased. It is perhaps down to me that he didnt get as many games as he would have liked in his initial spell, but it is a changed situation for him this time.

"I think it says a lot about us - he sees the new training ground, he sees the senior group as a close knit one who want to work together, " continued Ward.

"It is important for us to get the right people in terms of their characters as well as their abilities.

"Freddie knows he's welcome and popular here amongst the group here. He has got ambitions in his career and is young enough to push on in his career, and we can get the benefit."