West Ham United fans were given a festive treat on Monday as Mauro Zarate, Pedro Obiang and Enner Valenica headed to the intu Lakeside Thurrock centre for a player signing session.
The trio were on hand at the Hammers store to pose for photographs and sign autographs for hundreds of fans who combined their last-minute Christmas shopping with the chance to meet their heroes.
Less than 24 hours after securing a point at Swansea City, the first teamers were appreciative of the support shown to them both at the Liberty Stadium and at Lakeside.
Zarate said: “It was great to meet the fans on Monday. They’ve seen us for pictures and for us to sign autographs for them so it’s been a great day.
“Especially at Christmas it’s a good moment for us and for all the fans here.
“Their support was great at Swansea on Sunday, like always, and now we have to win at Aston Villa for them.”
Supporter Steve from Colchester, who took his son Jake, 8, to the event was thrilled to meet the trio.
He said: “It was great today. Jake really wanted to see Mauro Zarate as he is his favourite player.
“We’ve been really impressed with how we’ve performed this season. We’ve been going a lot and hopefully will get a season ticket for next year.
Jake added: “I love Mauro because he can really lift the ball into the goal and he has scored some really good goals this season."