West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has pulled of a major coup bby convincing Alou Diarra to join the newly promoted Premier League side.

The midfielder has cost £2million and will be most likely be deployed an a deep role where he will be able to support the likes of Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Jack Collison.

Diarra was one of the most consistent performers for France at Euro 2012 as he made four appearances and proved that he still has plenty to offer at the very top level.

Alou Diarra
West Ham sign Alou Diarra for £2million from Marseille [Reuters]

The 31-year-old previously spent three years in England with Liverpool having been signed back in 2002 from Bayern Munich but he was unable to make an impact at the club and did not start a single league game.

During that time he was loaned out on three occasions and impressed while playing for Lens who eventually agreed to sign him on a permanent basis.

He has spent the last six years playing in Ligue 1 for Lens, Lyon, Bordeaux and last season was representing Marseille who endured a difficult season and eventually finished in mid-table, well short of the Champions League places.

A powerful defensive midfielder, Diarra has made a total of 44 appearances for France and revealed just how pleased he was to be back in the Premier League.

"I am excited to be here at this club and to be playing for them in the Premier League," Diarra told the BBC.

"I know a lot about West Ham as a club. When I knew they were interested in signing me, I was very happy and knew it would be a good choice for me.

"We are a Premier League club and I know of players who were here before like Paolo Di Canio and Scott Parker, but of the players now in the team, I know Guy [Demel], Mo [Diame] and of course, Modibo Maiga, who played in the French league last year."

Diarra becomes the third major signing of the summer for West Ham after James Collins joined for £2.5million from Aston Villa and Modigo Maiga made the move from Sochaux for £4.7million.