Premiership side, West Ham have confirmed their interest in signing Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah.

The 27-year-old midfielder is a free agent after leaving Turkish giants Fenerbahce earlier this summer.

The Hammers have been long-term admirers of Appiah, but now face competition from Portsmouth with a host of clubs including Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Schalke all expressing an interest.

Stephen Appiah has revealed that he is hoping to finalise his future this week and West Ham's sporting director Gianluca Nani has confirmed his club's interest.

"He's a great player," Nani told Radio Radio.

"He has had some injury problems but I will not say anything else as a matter of privacy."

Another Appiah fan, Portsmouth boss, Harry Redknapp has reiterated his desire to land the Ghanaian.

"I'd love to sign Appiah and we are interested in him but there's nothing going on really at the moment," Redknapp told the Portsmouth News.

"It's going to be tough to get him - there are a lot of clubs chasing him, clubs like West Ham and Arsenal, which you expect because he's a free agent.

"He's a terrific player for somebody on a free," added Redknapp.

"I've asked about him in the past. I watched him plenty of times when I was looking at Sulley Muntari and they played together for Ghana.

"He's a top player but I already wanted Sulley and couldn't have both of them.

"Appiah's a fantastic footballer, he's an athlete, has a great engine, works hard and is the captain of Ghana. A lot of teams would love to sign him.

'There's a chance we might get him, like I say, we are interested in him. We'll just have to see what happens.

"But there is a lot of competition out there which you expect for a very, very good player like that."