Bellamy signs for Man City

West Ham striker Craig Bellamy completed his reported 14 million pound (15m euros) move to Manchester City on a four-and-a-half year contract after passing a medical on Monday.

The much-travelled Wales forward had demanded a transfer to Tottenham on Friday after rejecting the offer of a new contract, but the Hammers were unwilling to sell to their London rivals.

City, who had already had three separate bids for Bellamy turned down, are the 29-year-old’s eighth club.

He is expected to make his debut at home for his big spending new Abu Dhabi employers against one of his former sides, Newcastle, on January 28.

City manager Mark Hughes, who managed his latest signing at Blackburn, told the club’s website: “I am delighted to be working with Craig once more.

“He is an outstanding player who provides us with qualities that we are slightly lacking.

“He has blistering pace, has bags of of enthusiasm and has a superb attitude to training. He will be a great addition to the squad.”

Bellamy, who was thought to have preferred a move to Spurs, is due to join his City teammates at a training camp in Tenerife.

He could be soon joined by Holland international midfielder Nigel de Jong after Hamburg agreed a fee with City.

And whether Brazilian star Kaka also moves to Manchester on a world record transfer could be largely dependant on the outcome of talks between a City delegation led by chief executive Garry Cook and officials from AC Milan.

Bellamy was left out of the West Ham squad which defeated Fulham 3-1 on Sunday, with manager Gianfranco Zola stating the player was “not in the right frame of mind”.

Hughes knows Bellamy well, both with Wales and at Blackburn, and has never had a problem with the player’s fiery temperament.

Bellamy joined West Ham from Liverpool last season having also previously played at Norwich, Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic and Blackburn and has 16 goals in 54 appearances for Wales.

Zola has said he would use the money from selling Bellamy to strengthen a squad that has risen to eighth place in the Premier League.