Warrington sign Joe Westerman from Hull for £150,000

Warrington have signed loose forward Joe Westerman from Hull for a transfer fee of £150,000.

The 25-year-old, who made his England debut against Samoa in the 2014 Four Nations Series in Brisbane, had 12 months left on his current deal at the KC Stadium and the Black and Whites have concluded the deal now rather than allowing him to move for nothing next year.

"We are delighted to have signed Joe for the next three seasons," said Warrington head of coaching Tony Smith.

"He is another example of our commitment to investing in young, British talent.

"He will be an ideal fit with many facets to his game and will complement the quality English players and upcoming juniors already in our 2016 squad.

"He is a young player with a lot of potential having already had some international recognition. We look forward to his further development and working with him next year."

Westerman, who spent three years with Castleford before joining Hull in 2010, is the Wolves' sixth recruit for 2016 following the signing of winger Lineham - also from Hull, Jack Hughes, Kurt Gidley, Mitchell Dodds and Benjamin Jullien.

Westerman said: "It's a new challenge for me. It's a big club and one that's on the up.

"Hopefully next year we can win some silverware and compete at the top of the table. That's my ambition, it's a good enough club and there's no reason why we shouldn't be contesting for medals.

"When I was younger and with England I worked under Tony and I learnt a lot then so I am looking forward to learning from him again.

"I'm good mates with Daryl Clark so it will be good to play with him again, obviously Tom Lineham - who has moved over too - and I played with Chris Hill with England as well, so I'm just looking forward to getting started and settling in."

Hull are thought to have rejected Warrington's initial offer for Westerman before accepting the Wolves' £150,000 bid.

Hull general manager of football Motu Tony said: "With Joe entering the final year of his contract, we have had to be realistic in the fact that a transfer would be a possibility.

"The timing of a new deal has proven improbable so we have decided to accept a significant offer from Warrington Wolves.

"It is crucial for us going into an important season for the club with an exciting squad that there is no confusion or disruption to our pre-season preparations.

"We have learned from mistakes that may have been made in the past with disruption and speculation throughout the season and good calibre players have been allowed to leave the club without being able to command a suitable fee for their services.

"Joe leaves the club with our best wishes for his future career and a strong show of gratitude for the outstanding contribution he has made over the last five years here.

"It now allows us a little room to manoeuvre within our salary cap and we remain active in the market so further recruitment is still a possibility."