West Ham have completed the signing of defender Doneil Henry from Cypriot club Apollon Limassol for an undisclosed fee.
The Premier League club have been monitoring the defender for some time after being tipped off by former Toronto coach and Blackburn defender Ryan Nelson, who is close friends with boss Sam Allardyce.
Henry, who worked through the ranks at Toronto, moved to Cypriot club Apollon Limassol and has been impressing.
The defender has now penned a long term contract with the Hammers and Allardyce is delighted with the signing.
“Ryan was my captain at Blackburn for a couple of years and he rang us and told us about Doneil,” Allardyce told the club’s official website.
“With a little coaching from us and work in terms of how to defend in the Premier League, Ryan says he has all the attributes to be a good player.
“We have invested in him for the near future, so we do hope he can make some sort of appearance this season if he settles in and does as well as Ryan thinks he will.
“If not, we hope he is certainly one for the future.”