Former goal ace delighted to see England man at Upton Park.
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Ex-West Ham United striker Tony Cottee has welcomed the arrival of England international Stewart Downing from Liverpool, talkSPORT reports.
The Hammers have wrapped up the £6 million signing of Downing where he will join former teammates Andy Carroll and Joe Cole in east London.
The 29-year-old has endured an unhappy time at Anfield since joining from Aston Villa in a £20 million deal two years ago, but Cottee believes he will be given the chance to resurrect his career under Sam Allardyce.
“I thought he was outstanding at Aston Villa and he deservedly got his big money move,” he said.
“It hasn’t quite worked for him at Liverpool and he has lost his way a bit, but I think what Sam will do, and is good at, is put an arm around him, tell him how great he is and put him in the first team, and I think potentially he could be a really good buy for the club.”
Cottee also believes that Andy Carroll will benefit from having Downing nearby too, and has backed the pair to help the club build on their mid table finish last season.
“Andy will be saying ‘get the ball in the box’ and, if you get a fit Andy Carroll in there, he is going to score loads of goals. The potential is there for us to score a lot of goals this season,” he added.
“The club have stated their intentions by signing Andy Carroll and looking to sign the likes of Stewart Downing, because it is a lot of money to spend. They are looking to push on.
“I don’t expect them to qualify for Europe, but they finished tenth last year, why can’t they finish 9th this year and push the club forward?”