West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna is delighted former Juventus teammate Simone Zaza is making the move.

Zaza was due to complete his medical yesterday and join West Ham for a club record £24m from Juventus.

Ogbonna, also a former Juventus player, said: “I suggested to him to come to West Ham. I said it's a big club and are looking to improve all the time. We've got amazing fans, an amazing coach, amazing players, so it's good here.

“He does not need to adapt. He is already good enough for the Premier League. He's still young and is good for us - but I don't want to put too much pressure on him.

“He's my friend. He'll be a good player for the Premier League. He's fast, reads situations well, fights all the time so I think he is really good for us. We need a striker of course.

“We were not Juve team-mates. I left at the same time as he arrived. But we train and play together for Italy, and I played against him in when I was at Juventus.

“Everyone knows him and he is a really good signing for us. We need good international players to progress.

“Every time we talked he wanted to know about the Premier League and I said it is amazing, the respect is huge.

“It's good for a young player to come here and improve himself and to enjoy football without a lot of pressure – or at least good pressure, because in England there is good respect for the players. So it will be good for him.

“We have a good relationship, but he doesn't need any help to settle down. He's clever enough. And the fans will like him."