West Ham are poised to complete the signing of Patrice Evra and he could go straight into the squad for Saturday’s match against Watford.
Evra, who is 37 in May, was expected to undergo a medical before signing a short-term deal until the end of the season.
The former France left-back is a free agent after he was sacked by Marseille in November for kung-fu kicking one of the club’s supporters, and banned by Uefa from European competition for the rest of the season.
Evra claimed he was being verbally abused by the fan, whom he attacked before a Uefa Cup match against Vitoria Guimaraes on November 2.
The ban does not relate to domestic football, meaning Evra is clear to help West Ham in their bid to avoid relegation.
Everton were also reported to be interested in signing the experienced defender, who played under West Ham boss David Moyes when he was in charge of Manchester United.
Should the move go ahead, Evra’s fitness will be assessed by Moyes and his staff before they decide whether he is fit enough to go straight into West Ham’s squad for the clash against Watford.
Evra, who won 81 caps for France, has not played since the incident with the fan and will inevitably be short of match fitness.
With Arthur Masuaku having to serve four more matches of a six game ban for spitting, Moyes is short of cover on the left side of his defence.
Evra can also play as a centre-half and as a defensive midfielder, a role which has been a long-standing problem for Moyes and his predecessor Slaven Bilic.
Moyes could be boosted by the return of Marko Arnautovic for the Watford match. He has been recovering from a hamstring injury but is back in full training, along with centre-half Winston Reid.
