West Ham United are delighted to announce that England midfielder David Bentley has joined the club on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
Bentley, who turned 27 last Saturday, is the latest addition to a strong Hammers midfield already boasting the likes of summer recruits Kevin Nolan, Matt Taylor and Papa Bouba Diop, as well as homegrown duo Mark Noble and Jack Collison.
The club's tenth recruit this transfer window is due to train with his new team-mates for the first time on Thursday, and will hope to make his debut in the Kids for a Quid match at home to Portsmouth on Saturday week.
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Bentley came through the Academy ranks at Arsenal, making his debut at the age of 18 in an FA Cup third-round victory over Oxford United in January 2003.
A productive season on loan at Norwich City in 2004/05 saw him play alongside Robert Green and win the Championship title before he left the Gunners for Blackburn Rovers in pursuit of regular first-team football in August 2005.
Bentley announced himself on the national stage by scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 Premier League win over Manchester United in February 2006, helping Rovers to finish sixth in the table and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
After impressing in the UEFA Cup and helping Blackburn to a seventh-place finish in 2007/08, Bentley was voted the club's Player of the Year before moving to Tottenham Hotspur for £15m in July 2008.
Blessed with outstanding technique, superb delivery from set pieces and an eye for the spectacular, Bentley continued to catch the eye during a two-and-a-half year spell at White Hart Lane before being loaned to Birmingham City in January 2011.
At international level, Bentley has represented England at U16, U18, U21, B and senior levels, making his debut in a 3-0 2008 UEFA European Championship qualifying victory over Israel at Wembley in September 2007. He has been capped seven times in total.
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