The turncoat returns

Yossi Benayoun has completed a return to West Ham United - five years after he walked out of the club having reneged on a contract agreement.

The 32-year-old midfielder has joined the Irons on a season-long loan after parent club Chelsea agreed to finance part of his £92,000-a-week wages having reduced their wage bill by offloading Michael Essien to Real Madrid earlier in the day.

However Benayoun's return will raise eyebrows amongst some of the Hammers faithful, who still haven't forgotten the way in which he left the club back in 2007.

Having moved to West Ham from Racing Santander in 2005 Benayoun agreed to sign a new deal with West Ham two years later. "I'm very pleased to have agreed this new deal," he said at the time. "From the first moment I arrived at West Ham, the club felt like home to me."

Yet within the space of two weeks Benayoun - who has also played for Liverpool and Arsenal since leaving Upton Park - snubbed the Hammers by insisting that he wanted to move to Anfield instead.

"It is an unpleasant situation after we agreed terms but we will fight it," said the player's agent Ronen Katzav in June 2007. A week later, the Hammers withdrew their offer of a four-year contract and Benayoun went on to complete a £5million move to Liverpool.

His first appearance at the Boleyn Ground - in a 1-0 defeat for his new club in January 2008 - resulted in Benayoun receiving a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball.

Yet despite that reception he insisted that the club would always stay close to his heart. "West Ham will always be a special place for me," he said. "Even if it my reception wasn't good it won't change the way I feel about the club."

During his previous spell at the club the Israeli, who once referred to his team mates as "drunks" following a defeat, was also accused of 'going missing' ahead of international fixtures - and staging miraculous recoveries from injury when important fixtures for his country loomed.

Yet he was also considered to be one of the most creative players to play for the club since the turn of the century - something that Sam Allardyce - who was snubbed by Benayoun when manager of Bolton - will no doubt be hoping he can replicate this season.

Benayoun becomes the eleventh and final summer signing for West Ham. His arrival is expected to be confirmed by the club shortly.