West Ham United

iveco SG

West Ham United have signed Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun from Racing Santander for £2.5million.
The 25-year-old will join the Barclays Premiership newcomers after passing a medical, subject to a work permit.

Benayoun was Santander's top scorer in the Primera Liga last term and is looking forward to testing himself in the Barclays Premiership.

He told official club website www.whufc.com: "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining such a big and famous club as West Ham United and can't wait to play in the Premiership.

"I know other clubs were interested in me, but I was very impressed when I met the people at West Ham. I also think my qualities will suit their style of play.

"I also spoke with my wife and family, and former West Ham star Eyal Berkovic, who told me not to hesitate in signing for them.

"Eyal and I are good friends and we have played together for the national team and he always spoke very highly of the club and its supporters.

"I know something of the history and tradition of the club and their supporters and saw their play-off final and how they celebrated afterwards. I'm looking forward to playing for West Ham United."

Hammers boss Alan Pardew said: "We're delighted to have secured the signature of Yossi and I'm sure he'll prove to be a great asset to our squad.

"He's a creative midfield player, who brings an educated discipline to the attack. But he's also a diligent player, who hardly misses a game and has improved year on year in La Liga.

"He's a player with flair, who'll be able to open the door for us when teams sit deep. We needed a player like that and at 25 years old he is a great signing for the club."

Meanwhile, Matthew Etherington has pledged his future to the Hammers by penning a new four-year contract.

The 23-year-old winger joined from Tottenham Hotspur two years ago and played a pivotal role in the clubs promotion last season.

Managing director Paul Aldridge said: Matty is one of the country's most outstanding young talents and we are delighted he has committed himself to the future of West Ham United.

dragg SG

Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes has backed Craig Bellamy to put his recent past behind him and solve his sides goalscoring problems this season.

Hughes hardly needs reminding that Rovers total of 32 goals was the lowest in the Barclays Premiership last season and a major contributor to a relegation-threatened campaign.

His double summer swoop for Bellamy and Ipswich Towns Shefki Kuqi clearly indicated where his priorities lie as he targets a much-improved campaign, starting with Rovers Barclays Premiership opener at West Ham United.

And Hughes insists he remains utterly unconcerned by the baggage Bellamy brings following his departure from Newcastle United, to join a squad which boasting the likes of Robbie Savage and Paul Dickov is already well-stocked in the character department.

Hughes said: I did not sign them because they are fiery characters, I signed them because they are good players and it excites you to know they will be playing with you rather than against you.

Craig does not have any baggage at this club. He is proven at this level and having seen them in the pre-season I am sure he and Shefki are going to be very successful at this club.

Bellamy looks like winning his battle to make his competitive Rovers debut at Upton Park despite the ankle injury which has severely restricted his pre-season campaign.

Provided he does not suffer a late reaction Bellamy is set to start but New Zealander Ryan Nelsen is more doubtful with a knee problem, and Italian Lorenzo Amoruso is still definitely out.

Hughes added: We have more of a cutting edge now and that is plain for everyone to see.

The problem with us last season was we were nice and solid defensively but we never had the clinical finishing we needed.

We had to prioritise our transfer targets and we did that. Now we feel we have more different options and a little bit more quality in the goalscoring stakes.

Expectations are higher this time and we did a lot of good work last season - it was a hard season which was well documented but now I believe we will reap the benefits from that.

Alan Pardew could give four players their West Ham debuts against Rovers.

Summer signings Paul Konchesky and Danny Gabbidon are set to line up in defence, former Manchester United keeper Roy Carroll starts in goal and Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun could feature on the right of midfield.

Wales defender Gabbidon, his central defensive partner Anton Ferdinand, Benayoun and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker are all in line to make their top-flight bows.

Christian Dailly will captain the side from the centre of midfield while Teddy Sheringham is in line to make his Barclays Premiership return alongside either Bobby Zamora or Marlon Harewood.

Pardew is missing centre-back James Collins (calf) and left-back Clive Clarke (ankle). Collins will be out for the first few games of the season but Clarke is due to start training on Monday.

The West Ham boss heads into his first season as a Barclays Premiership manager determined to "carry the flag" for those he feels never get their chance at the highest level.

"I have managed for five full seasons in the Football League. There are some fantastic coaches and some fantastic managers in the Football League and yet they are always overlooked when the Premiership jobs come up," said Pardew.

"How is that trend going to break? The only real way to get into the Premiership is to get promoted and to make a reputation for yourself.

"In some ways I carry the flag, as does Wigan manager Paul Jewell. I hope that Paul Jewell and I do terrifically well this season and that maybe English coaches and English managers in the level below get the respect they deserve and maybe get the chance to manage in the Premiership.

"For me not being a big name in terms of being a footballer, it is about earning my right to be here."

Pardew, the former Crystal Palace midfielder, is in the market for a top-class goalscorer after missing out with bids - all in the region of £6million - for Peter Crouch, Milan Baros and Monaco striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

And he promised West Ham fans that a new striker will be brought in before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

"We will definitely do some business in the next couple of weeks," he said.

"We have targets and it's really where I put my money. There is no rush. The boys that brought us up deserve a chance. It is only right I give them their platform."

West Ham United (from): Carroll, Repka, Konchesky, Gabbidon, Ferdinand, Dailly, Reo-Coker, Etherington, Benayoun, Sheringham, Harewood, Zamora, Hislop, Ward, Noble, Fletcher, Newton, Mullins.

Blackburn Rovers (from): Friedel, Neill, Todd, Flitcroft, Nelsen, Emerton, Savage, Kuqi, Dickov, Bellamy, Pedersen, Reid, Mokoena, Tugay, Gresko, Thompson, Gallagher, Matteo, McEveley, Gray, Enckelman.

dragg SG

west ham 3 - 1 blackburn

west ham won their first premiership match.

iveco SG

Soccer: Hammers complete Bellion deal as take-over looms

LONDON : West Ham completed the signing of French striker David Bellion from Premiership rivals Manchester United on a one year loan deal as the London club found itself at the centre of take-over talks.

Manager Alan Pardew was eager to strengthen his strikeforce before the transfer window closes after missing out on Liverpool's Milan Baros, Emmanuel Adeybayor at Monaco and former Hammer Fredi Kanoute at Tottenham.

"David Bellion was wanted by a number of Premier League clubs and I feel it is a great compliment to this Club and its supporters that he wanted to come to West Ham," said Pardew.

"David is 22 and will reinvigorate the right hand side of our attack and give me a whole new set of options.

"He is the sort of player that can break a deadlock with his pace as he is without question one of the quickest players in the Premiership."

Bellion has however been troubled by injuries and has not played first-team football since January and is still short of peak fitness.

The former Sunderland player will be looking for more first-team opportunities at Upton Park than he was given at Old Trafford.

He joined United in 2003 for two million pounds but he made just 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.

The former France Under-21s international began his English career in 2002 when Sunderland brought him to the Stadium of Light from Cannes.

West Ham began life back in the Premiership with a convincing 3-1 defeat of Blackburn on Saturday .

The club's hopes of a brighter future were boosted on Wednesday by the comments of Kia Joorabchian, the Iranian-born, English-educated head of London-based consortium Media Sports Investment, who gave notice of a bid for the Hammers earlier this month.

Joorabchian told the London Evening Standard he has not made a bid yet - but it is only a matter of time.

"My West Ham project has to be worth around 200million pounds," he said.

"That's 45million on buying the club, 30million on its debts, another 30million on keeping the cash-flow going and around 100million on new players.

"There is no point in buying West Ham unless you are going to turn them into one of the top teams in the country. There is huge potential there and at one point we are going to make a bid, although at the moment we have not done anything.

"The fact that I want to buy a European club is obvious and there is still a possibly it could be another Premiership club other than West Ham." - AFP /dt