Sam on Jarvis

Sam Allardyce says that he is delighted to have finally captured winger Matt Jarvis from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 26-year-old joined West Ham yesterday in a deal worth £10.75million overall - a new club record fee that eclipsed the £7.5million paid to Liverpool for Craig Bellamy five years ago.

And Allardyce, who has now managed to bring in nine new faces since West Ham's return to the Premier League was confirmed on 19th May admitted that he was delighted to bring the once-capped England international to Upton Park.

"I’m grateful that co-chairman David Sullivan decided to really push the boat out and lump the money available on Matt," he told the Standard. "He is a player who has proved he can deliver in the final third on a regular basis and that will be a key element to us scoring and creating goals.

"Matt has the ability to receive the ball, often deep in his own half, take it right up field — sometimes on his own and deliver the ball into the penalty area with either foot. I believe he will considerably improve our attacking ability this season, create chances and help us score the goals we need to do well."

Allardyce also believes that Jarvis, who started his career at Millwall will prove to be a huge fans' favourite at the Boleyn Ground - even if he felt that he was slightly overpriced.

"I know the Wolves’ fans loved Matt and I am sure the West Ham fans will feel the same way about him," he added. "It is his ambition to return to the Premier League which has helped to bring him to us now.

"Matt has pace and a lot of different ways of beating defenders, and he’s not one-dimensional. At the end of the day, we would have liked to have paid less money but if the player is the one you want and you can meet the demand, then it works for both parties. "