West Ham sign Canada international defender Doneil Henry

Posted Sunday, January 04, 2015 by skysports.com

Doneil Henry: Made 92 appearances for Toronto FC

West Ham have made their first signing of the January transfer window after snapping up Canada international defender Doneil Henry.

The 21-year-old centre-back arrives from Apollon Limassol on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.

Henry joined the Cypriot First Division side in October but returned to Toronto FC on loan and was recommended to Sam Allardyce by the MLS side's coach Ryan Nelsen.

"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."

Henry, who recently spent two spells training with the Hammers, is eager to get started.

He said: "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. 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."