The Paraguay international joins on a three-year deal, and becomes the sixth summer signing for the Hammers
West Ham United have confirmed the signing of Corinthians captain Fabian Balbuena on a three-year deal.
The centre-half, who is a Paraguay international, arrives for an undisclosed fee.
He told the official club website he was looking forward to testing himself in the English top-flight.
“I’m really excited for this new challenge and my target is to meet the demands of the Premier League,” the 26-year-old said.
“Obviously to be at West Ham is an extra motivation, and I want to do my best to help the team.”
New director of football Mario Husillos was instrumental in sorting the deal, and stressed the defender would be instrumental in their success for the future.
He said: “We welcome Fabian to West Ham United. He is somebody we have monitored for a long time and we are very pleased to have taken the opportunity to sign him.
“He is a player of great strength, character and personality. To be captain of Corinthians, one of the biggest clubs in South America, requires a very strong mentality, and he also has international experience with Paraguay.
“He has won many individual honours and was often named one of the best central defenders in Brazil for his statistics.
“We believe he will improve our squad and our defensive qualities. He is the perfect age – a player for the present and the future – and he can be a very important player for many years at West Ham.”
Nicknamed ‘El Comandante’ (the Commander), Balbuena won several individual awards for his efforts last season, as well as the 2017 Campeonato Paulista – where he was named in the team of the season.
The Hammers have already added Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianksi, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko to their ranks.
