Bellamy close to West Ham transfer
Craig Bellamy close to Upton Park move
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Saturday, 07, Jul 2007 10:04
Welsh forward Craig Bellamy is close to completing an £8 million transfer to West Ham, officials at the club have announced.
Club officials at Upton Park tonight explained that although the player had successfully passed a medical and agreed personal terms, a private contractual issue between Bellamy and Liverpool had prevented the transfer from being completed.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had earlier suggested that Bellamy had completed his four-year, £75,000 a week deal with the east London club.
The 28-year-old would leave Liverpool after just one season at the club, having scored nine goals in 42 appearances during a mixed spell at the club.
Benitez confirmed that Bellamy's prospective transfer would not see Israeli international Yossi Benayoun moving in the other direction in a swap deal but reaffirmed his interest in signing the player.
"Any move for Benayoun to join us from West Ham will not be linked with the Bellamy sale," he said, adding: "He is a player I like and would want to sign and I believe he wants to join us, but that deal will be separate now."
Benitez has also recouped a substantial slice of the £20 million spent on bringing talented Spanish striker Fernando Torres to Anfield by confirming that Djibril Cisse has joined Marseille in a permanent £6 million transfer.
Bellamy's prospective transfer continues the peripatetic career of a talented but often controversial figure.
Having started his career at Norwich, the Welsh captain enjoyed spells at Coventry City, Newcastle and a loan spell at Celtic before completing a £6 million transfer from Blackburn last summer.
The signings of Torres and Andriy Voronin would have relegated Bellamy down the pecking order at Anfield, which may have precipitated his departure.