West Ham boss Glenn Roeder this afternoon made a surprise swoop to sign Fulham's Rufus Brevett in a beat-the-deadline transfer raid.
The 33-year-old left-back, who has signed for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal, would have been out of contract with the Cottagers in the summer.
The veteran defender got out of bed at the crack of dawn today to ensure he was registered in time to make his debut against Liverpool at Upton Park on Sunday.
Brevett passed a 5 a.m. medical and finalised his cross-London switch at lunchtime, signing a deal just three months shy of his 36th birthday.
Roeder revealed he has earmarked Brevett to be Nigel Winterburn's stand-in when he has an operation next week - and the 39-year-old's permanent replacement when he retires in the summer.
"Nigel has been playing with a fractured wrist for seven or eight weeks," Roeder said.
"He had it scanned and a piece of bone has come away from his wrist, so he'll have an operation to have it screwed next week which will keep him out for a month.
"That's a reason for getting Rufus on board - and also, we've known for a good few months that Nigel will retire at the end of the season, something he's said himself."
Brevett's move ends his five-year stay at Fulham, which started when Kevin Keegan signed him from their west London neighbours QPR in a £350,000 deal in January 1998.
He starred in the Cottagers side which won promotion to the Premiership in May 2001 and last season saw off the challenge of Jon Harley, a £3.5million arrival from Chelsea.
Brevett's departure throws Harley, recently loaned out to First Division Sheffield United, a lifeline in his fight for a first-team place.
Brevett is in line to make his West Ham debut against Liverpool at Upton Park on Sunday if Winterburn fails a fitness test tomorrow.
Winterburn, 39, who was snowed in at home today and unable to reach West Ham's Chadwell Heath training ground, must prove to boss Glenn Roeder he can manage his second game in four days.