West Ham Sign Craig Bellamy for £7.5m

West Ham have completed the signing of Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy for a club record £7.5m.

Bellamy's departure from Anfield was prompted by the arrival of Fernando Torres and he has signed a five-year contract at Upton Park.

The Wales captain takes Alan Curbishley's spending since he arrived at West Ham in December to nearly £40m. The Hammers have also signed midfielders Scott Parker and Julien Faubert this summer, although Carlos Tevez is expected to join Manchester United in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to invest the money from Bellamy's departure on Ajax winger Ryan Babel.

Ajax technical director Martin van Geel said the club are willing to sell Babel, but only if Liverpool match their £13.5m asking price. "We have told them what we want, and that's 20m euros [£13.5m]," he said. "We would like to see Babel play here next season, but if these kind of clubs want to pay us these figures it says something. We will see if we can reach a deal in the coming days."

Babel, who was impressive for Holland in the recent European U-21 Championships, admitted a move to Liverpool would interest him. "I had heard that there were some stories on the internet but that happens quite often. This [Liverpool's interest] is serious news to me. I haven't thought about a transfer for a minute, I will do that soon though. That such a big club is interested is of course very nice."