West Ham United have signed Canadian defender Doneil Henry from Cypriot side Apollon Limassol on a 'long-term' contract.

The 21-year-old centre half has twice trained with the Hammers and boss Sam Allardyce revealed in December he expected to sign the former Toronto FC defender.

Henry, who began his career with the Canadian side, joined Limassol in April 2014 before returing to MLS side Toronto on loan.

Ryan Nelsen, who was Blackburn Rovers captain under Sam Allardyce, worked with Henry as Toronto head coach and recommended the 6ft 2in defender to his former boss. 

Speaking to the club's website, Henry said of his move: "It feels good to be given the opportunity to come and train and see what it's like to be part of a Premier League team and I just want to get started and get into the team real soon.

"I had a really good relationship with Ryan Nelsen and I always wanted to see what it was like to play at another level, the highest level, and I got the opportunity to come over here. Since then, I was just hoping to come back and now it's happened, I want it to continue on and keep playing."

He continued: "I started with the Toronto FC Academy when I was 16 and signed for the first-team when I was 17 and now I just want to continue to develop and keep growing as a player. I'm 21 and I want to get a role with the team, keep my head down and take my opportunity when I can.

"I love a tackle and I just want to defend hard. I take pride in my clean sheets with the back line and with the 'keeper, so if we can just do that, it's job completed."

Henry, who has represented his country at Under-20 and Under-23 level previously, has won 14 full caps for Canada.

Hammers boss Allardyce said of his new capture: "Ryan was my captain at Blackburn for a couple of years and he rang us and told us about Doneil. He said this lad definitely has Premier League potential and he has everything he needs.

"With a little coaching from us and work in terms of how to defend in the Premier League, Ryan says he has all the attributes to be a good player.

"We have invested in him for the near future, so we do hope he can make some sort of appearance this season if he settles in and does as well as Ryan thinks he will. If not, we hope he is certainly one for the future."

Henry became the first-ever graduate of Toronto's academy when he made the step up to first-team level and went on to make 93 appearances for the club, as well as winning the Canadian Championship on three occasions.