Honoko Hayashi signs for West Ham United, joining the club from a Swedish side, AIK. She penned a two-year deal until June 2024.
The 24-year-old played for Cerezo Osaka before she made a move to Europe and signed with a Swedish club. After the departure of Yui Hasegawa, the Hammers found a replacement in her fellow countrywoman, who currently has 16 caps for the national team. The midfielder with over 150 appearances in the Japanese top flight will play in the Women’s Super League for the first time in her career.
“I’m very excited to be joining West Ham! I’ve been really looking forward to playing with the team since I heard about the interest and I can’t wait to get started,” Hayashi said. Risa Shimizu, Thea Kyvåg, Vivane Asseyi, Alex Henessy, Sophie Hillyerd, Lisa Evans, Kirsty Smith and Izzy Atkinson have already joined West Ham recently.