Revealed: West Ham seal £17.2million deal as paperwork finalised
By Editor Wayne Veysey | Former Evening Standard, Press Association and Goal chief correspondent with 17 years experience of breaking big stories, including exclusives like this
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Cheikhou Kouyate has agreed the terms of a five-and-a-half-year West Ham contract worth £17.2million, Football Insider sources understand.
The 26-year-old central midfielder signed a new deal worth £60,000-a-week earlier this week that runs until 2021.
Slaven Bilic sanctioned a lucrative package for the Senegal international, who has emerged as a key player for the high-flying Hammers this season.
Kouyate has received a significant pay rise as a reward for his consistency in the West Ham midfield as Bilic’s side retain hopes of securing a top-four finish this season.
Kouyate has started 26 of the team’s 30 Premier League matches this season and has been a regular since his move from Anderlecht in the summer of 2014.
“There is a lot of work for me still to do and I need to continue working hard,” Kouyate told the club’s website.
As reported by Football Insider on Wednesday, the West Ham will also imminently confirm the signing of Manuel Lanzini on a permanent deal for a fee of around £7.5million.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has been on a season-long loan at West Ham from Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates and has impressed sufficiently for manager Slaven Bilic to sanction a permanent contract.
A deal has been in place for a number of weeks, but West Ham wanted to confirm Lanzini’s fitness after a thigh injury.
Lanzini scored for the London club in their 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday to maintain their fifth position in the table.
In other West Ham news, Bilic has a shortlist of four targets as he steps up plans to sign a striker in the summer.