PLAYER PROFILE

Yossi Benayoun

Position: Midfield

Height: 5'10

Weight: 11st 0lbs

Date of Birth: 1980-05-05 Dimona, Israel

Yossi Benayoun

West Ham manager Alan Pardew completed the signing of Racing Santander midfielder Yossi Benayoun in July 2005.

The 25-year-old Israeli international signed a four-year deal with the Hammers after completing his £2.5million switch to the Barclays Premiership side.

Benayoun started his career with Hapoel Beer Sheva, after two years at the Ajax Academy. He moved on to Maccabi Haifa, where he became a real star of the Israeli league, before being sold to Santander in 2003.

His first season of Barclays Premiership football proved to be a good one. He played forty games and scored five times.

This success continued into the 2006/07 season as he scored three goals in 27 starts, and his continued good form attracted the attention of Liverpool, who snapped him up for an undisclosed fee in July 2007.

Although he was by no means a regular first-teamer in his first season at Anfield, he proved a valuable utility man, putting in fine performances and scoring important goals whenever Rafa Benitez called on him.

His second season saw him grow in importance to the Liverpool team, scoring against Real Madrid in the Champions League as well as getting eight goals in the Premier League and securing a more regular place in the first team.