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.”