West Ham transfer news: Connor Wickham bid fails as striker Diafra Sakho arrives from FC Metz

 

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Done Deal: Sakho signs up from FC Metz
Standard Sport15 August 2014

West Ham have added to their forward ranks with the signing of striker Diafra Sakho from Ligue 1 outfit FC Metz.

The Hammers announced on their official website that the 24-year-old had signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

The Senegalese player has enjoyed a prolific spell at Metz, scoring 43 goals in the last two seasons as the club achieved back-to-back promotions.

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"This is a proud day to have signed for West Ham. I really love English football and I've dreamed of coming to play for one of the big English clubs," he told West Ham TV. "Today, West Ham have given me that opportunity and I didn't hesitate to grab it.

"I'm looking forward to playing. It's more than a month now that I've been training for this and right now I think I'd be ready to pull on the club colours.

"I've come here to continue as I was at Metz. I'm going to give it my all, going flat out on the pitch and I think the fans will appreciate that."

The deal appeared to have collapsed on Wednesday after Metz accused West Ham of altering their offer for Sakho at the last minute having allowed the player to undergo a medical.

But the transaction has now been completed as Sakho joins Enner Valencia, Mauro Zarate, Diego Poyet, Aaron Cresswell and Cheikhou Kouyate as summer additions at Upton Park.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce was also been linked with moves for Samuel Eto'o and Peter Crouch as he attempted to strengthen his forward line - whilst a bid for Sunderland's Connor Wickham was rejected.

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