 WEST HAM have slapped a staggering £8m valuation on Yossi Benayoun’s head, in a bid to snatch Craig Bellamy from Anfield on the cheap. Liverpool gave permission for the Welsh international striker to speak to The Hammers last night and he quickly agreed a remarkable £70,000 a week contract. But after the Reds rejected an initial cash bid of £7m, the Hammers tried to offer a straight swap deal for their Israeli international skipper. With Liverpool holding out for £8m for Bellamy, the cheeky Hammers instantly valued Benayoun at that figure and suggested an exchange. But Liverpool only value Benayoun at around half that price. Further talks will take place today – and Djibril Cisse’s name may now come into the equation as well. The Hammers want to add the Frenchman to their squad with Bellamy. Liverpool want a fee in the region of £9m for a player who cost an Anfield club record of £14m when he arrived from Auxerre three years ago. Marseille are also bidding to make Cisse’s loan spell in France permanent, while Portsmouth have also made an enquiry. Bellamy did not report back to Melwood yesterday with the rest of Liverpool’s international contingent. But unless West Ham can reach agreement quickly he may have to return to training with a squad he is clearly surplus to. The Reds kick off their pre-season schedule at Wrexham tomorrow (kick-off 3pm), and while players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are unlikely to figure, Rafa Benitez will take a mix of senior stars and youngsters to the Racecourse. The only players not now back in training at Melwood are Harry Kewell, Mark Gonzalez, Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua, who remain on international duty for their respective countries, while Fernando Torres will not report for training until July 11. Benitez said yesterday: “All of the internationals will start training today. We will see how they are, but normally you could expect them to play next week against Crewe. “We only had five senior players back last week. We’ve had the young players, and you can see the commitment in them. “Sometimes you have to tell them to calm down because they tackle hard and fight for each ball.” | 
HAVE your say on our Reds Messageboard - click 
RSS News Feed