West Ham United have completed the signing of Canada international defender Doneil Henry from Apollon Limassol for an undisclosed fee.
Henry, 21, joined Apollon Limassol from Toronto FC in the summer, but was immediately loaned out to the MLS side.
Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, who played under Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers, recommended the 21-year-old centre-back to his former boss.
Ryan was my captain at Blackburn for a couple of years and he rang us and told us about Doneil, Allardyce told West Ham’s website.
He said this lad definitely has Premier League potential and he has everything he needs.
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.
Meanwhile, Henry is eager to get started at Upton Park, with the Hammers scheduled to travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton in the FA Cup Third Round on Friday, 6 January.
I started with the Toronto FC Academy when I was 16 and signed for the first team when I was 17 and now I just want to continue to develop and keep growing as a player, Henry said. I m 21 and I want to get a role with the team, keep my head down and take my opportunity when I can.
I love a tackle and I just want to defend hard. I take pride in my clean sheets with the back line and with the keeper, so if we can just do that, it s job completed.
Bostock would welcome Palace switch
Oud-Heverlee Leuven midfielder John Bostock has revealed he would love to return to Crystal Palace following the appointment of Alan Pardew.
Back in 2007, Bostock, 22, was viewed by many as the next big thing in English football. The likes of Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester United all wanted the teenager.
Bostock eventually left Palace for Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, spent time on loan at Brentford, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town, and Toronto FC before leaving North London for Antwerp in 2013 and Antwerp for Leuven this summer.
Now, the 22-year-old has insisted he would relish the opportunity to rejoin the Eagles, who are in the middle of one of closest relegation battles in recent memory.
It s the club I love, said the former England youth international.
It will always have a place in my heart. I always follow their results and if the opportunity was to come to go back there, then it’s definitely something I would look at.
But I m just focusing on playing in Leuven, playing in Belgium. I m scoring more goals this year so hopefully if I can keep progressing, you never know.
Bostock has bagged six goals in 16 league appearances for OHL this season.
