West Ham have received £350,000 from Aston Villa as central defender Liam Ridgewell comes of age.
Ridgewell moved from the Hammers to Villa Park as a 16-year-old in 2001 and a Football League tribunal ruled that the Midlands club had to pay an initial £50,000 plus a further £350,000 when he clocked up 50 appearances.
The England Under-21 player reached that milestone on Saturday as part of the Villa side beaten 2-0 at home by Manchester United.
Ridgewell made his debut three years ago against Blackburn in the FA Cup but it is only in the past six months that he has become a first team regular after Marin Laursen’s long-term knee injury.
West Ham would also be entitled to 15% of any transfer fee should Ridgewell ever leave Villa, but the player signed a new three-year contract earlier this season.
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