West Ham have announced the signing of England Under-21 defender Maz Pachedo.

The young left-back has been a part of Reading’s defensive unit for two years, but left at the end of the shortened 2019/20 campaign.

And she is now thrilled to be linking up with her second WSL club at just 21 years old. 

Speaking to the club website, she said: "I’m very excited to join West Ham.

"West Ham is a brand-new team that is still very much at the start of their journey, and I think that’s like I am as well.

"I really like the idea of growing together with the club and giving everything I can for this shirt. With the players already here, it’s going to be a great group to be around and I can’t wait to get started."

Hammers boss Matt Beard spoke incredibly highly of Pachedo’s character as he worked with her as a youngster.

"Maz is, first of all, a great person with a fantastic personality. When I was at Liverpool, I gave Maz her debut at 16 years-old, and she was good enough then to play at the top level," he said.

"She is a great attacking full-back and I’m looking forward to continuing her development as a player here. She’s a great talent already and there is a lot more to come from her as well.

"She’s young and comes with a lot of WSL experience. We’ve got ourselves a young, English, elite player. The ambition for her now is to get into this West Ham team, play regularly, and hopefully we can help her fulfil her international ambitions too."

West Ham finished eighth in last season’s WSL after the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.