Craig Bellamy has completed his move from West Ham
to Manchester City for a fee believed to be around £14million after
the striker passed a medical and agreed personal
terms.
The Wales forward has agreed a four-and-a-half-year contract
with the Blues to keep him at the club until June 2013 and is
expected to make his debut against former side Newcastle on January
28.
Bellamy originally wanted to join Tottenham but once West Ham
made it clear they were not going to let the striker join their
London rivals, he quickly agreed to link up again with countryman
Mark Hughes.
"I am delighted to be working with Craig once more," Hughes told
the club's website. "He is an outstanding player who provides us
with qualities that we are slightly lacking. "He has blistering
pace, has bags of of enthusiasm and has a superb attitude to
training. He will be a great addition to the squad."
Bellamy and Hughes have worked together twice before, at
Blackburn and with Wales, and the forward accepts his countryman
seems to know what makes him tick. "Knowing Mark and his coaching
team were here was a big factor," said Bellamy.
"They are people that I have worked with since I was 18. They
know me better than anybody else in the football game and they are
people I completely trust in. "I feel I am at my peak and I hope
over the next few years to perform really well here."
Despite the acrimonious end to his time at Upton Park, Hammers
boss Gianfranco Zola sent him off with his blessings. "I wish him
all the best and I hope he does well and finds what he is looking
for. I am very happy with what he has done for me and now he has
decided to go somewhere else," he told the club's
website.
"We wanted to keep him but he wanted a new challenge and we
respect that. For our fans, I can say again that we want to achieve
a high level so we are looking for players that can help us make
that happen."
Zola insists he will be allowed to spend the money made from the
sale of Bellamy. "Yes, I will get the money. We are looking for a
replacement and we will find something," Zola said.
"It is important to deal with the situation as soon as possible.
"I haven't set a deadline, but it needs to be soon because I need
to get on with my squad. "I need to work out how we can sort things
out, so it needs to be quick. My job is to make it work on the
pitch and that is what I am trying to do.
"The club will deal with all the other matters. They know what I
think about the situation and that is enough." While his
combustible temperament has seen Bellamy get into trouble far too
often, when fit he is a major attacking weapon. Crucially, he is
also free to play in the remainder of City's
UEFA Cup campaign.
Bellamy will join his new team-mates at a training camp in
Tenerife, where he could joined by Holland international Nigel de
Jong, who is also reportedly close to joining the Blues.