West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce admits Steve Clarke had an influence on Morgan Amalfitano's arrival from Marseille.
The midfielder played for Clarke last season at West Bromwich Albion.
Allardyce told whufc.com: "We finally sorted it out and to be fair to Morgan, he flew over first thing Monday morning as soon as we knew that there was a deal to be done. Obviously, that was on the back of Mo leaving and the fact that the cause in his contract was triggered on the money side. We wish Mo all the best.
"Morgan has come in and improved the squad. If you look at his record of French international football, Champions League football with Marseille and what he has done over there and of course a good season at West Brom under Steve Clarke.
"I spoke to Steve a few days ago and he told me nothing but good things about Morgan, so he fits the bill and he adds more creativity to the team. As everybody knows, we're trying to play a more expansive game, but that is all down to the quality that we hope we have in the squad, even after the disappointment of our performance against Southampton.
"We have signed a lot of players and we hope they bed in now. Hopefully they will get better and better as quickly as possible. With Morgan, he certainly has the experience and quality and his technical and physical stats stand up very, very well in the Premier League, based on what he achieved at West Bromwich Albion.
"Morgan fits the bill as he plays in three positions - down the right, down the left or in the hole - and his goal at Old Trafford last year sprang to mind when the deal came about. If anybody hasn't done it, they should get on YouTube and sees what he did there last year. If he can reproduce that on a regular basis and score and provide goals, then we have a very good player on our hands."
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