Right said Fred

The U’s swooped to complete a major transfer coup on Wednesday, by snapping up ex-West Ham attacker Sears on a three-year deal.

It was a big step for Sears to leave his beloved West Ham, a club he had been with for a decade, especially as he still had another year left on his contract.

But the 22-year-old made that bold move last weekend, and it did not take him long to pledge his long-term future to the U’s, for whom he spent two months on loan at the back end of last season.

Sears insisted: “It just felt right.

“It had been a hard decision to leave West Ham. I could have just sat back for another year, but sometimes you just have to move on.

“I loved my time at Colchester last season, and to be fair the manager (John Ward) has not given me any peace this summer. He has continually been on the phone to me.

“In the end it was quite an easy decision to choose Colchester. There were a couple of other clubs interested, and I spoke to a couple of managers, but Colchester have always made me feel wanted.

“I spoke to the chairman (Robbie Cowling), and he really sold the club to me. The new training ground proves that the club is going places.

“It feels like I have been around a long time in my career, but incredibly I have still not had a full season of football anywhere.

“I have had little runs of 10 or 15 games in a team, but never played 40-odd games in a season. I am looking forward to doing that at Colchester,” added Sears.

Sears played 11 games during a two-month loan stint with the U’s from late February.

Although often employed as a substitute, he still scored a couple of goals, against Hartlepool and Tranmere, and generally caught the eye with his neat skills and ability to beat defenders.

U’s boss Ward enthused: “I think it (Sears deal) says a lot about us.

“He has got ambition in his career and is young enough to push on in his career, and we can get the benefit.

“I think it’s a great deal for the supporters particularly, and the club in general.”