The striker is completing the formalities of his switch to Upton Park after agreeing a €117,000-a-week six-year contract that will make him best paid player in club’s history

By Wayne Veysey

Andy Carroll has passed a medical at West Ham ahead of his €18 million move from Liverpool.

The striker underwent extensive medical tests on Tuesday after agreeing a €117,000-a-week, six-year contract that will make him the highest-paid player in the east London club’s history.

West Ham chairman David Gold posted on Twitter: “We managed to bring Andy’s medical forward to this evening and I am delighted to informed you that he has passed with flying colours.”

The Hammers had already agreed a club-record €18m fee with Liverpool, which will be supplemented by a potential €2.3m of add-ons.

West Ham only have to tie up the formalities of the deal before announcing the signing of a player that manager Sam Allardyce had prioritised during the summer window.

It represents a loss of at least €20m for the Merseysiders, who paid Newcastle United around €40m for the 24-year-old in January 2011.

Allardyce had admitted on Monday that West Ham reached an agreement with Liverpool on the fee for the big forward, who scored seven goals in 25 league games on loan at Upton Park last season.

Amid late interest from another club, believed to be Newcastle, Carroll flew back from a holiday in Florida on Monday night to agree a contract with the Hammers.

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The Paris Saint-Germain star has offered his congratulations to la Roja following their victory over the Azzurrini, in what is their second title in a row

Marco Verratti says Spain are worthy winners of the European Under-21 Championship following Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Italy in the final of the competition.

Thiago netted a first-half hat-trick for the Spaniards before Malaga star Isco added a fourth from the penalty spot midway through the second half, with Ciro Immobile and Fabio Borini’s goals 10 minutes from the start and end of the match respectively unable to impact on the result.

Verratti, who played 75 minutes of the showpiece, believes la Rojita – who were defending their title – are deserved victors of the tournament.

“It was always going to be a difficult game, but we knew that right from the start,” he told Rai Sport. “We took to the field with a desire to win, but unfortunately did not succeed.

“Spain were superior to us and we must congratulate them.”

Italy Under-21 coach Devis Mangia went on to praise his team for their efforts throughout the tournament and believes inexperience is the reason why they fell at the final hurdle.

Mangia added: “I had to thank the lads and the staff. They achieved something important and I hope everyone can recognise their merits.

“The only flaw today was inexperience and that was not their fault. It can only arrive with playing time at the top level and experience.

“I must compliment the team, as not many would’ve tried to stay in the game right to the end with that result.”

Spain collected their fourth title following the victory, but Italy still boast the highest number of European Under-21 Championships with five.

The controversial attacker remains upbeat about his side’s chances of making it to the knockout stages of the Confederations Cup

Luis Suarez is confident that Uruguay will bounce back from their 2-1 loss against Spain in their Confederations Cup opener and insists they still have every chance of reaching the semi-finals of the tournament.

The South Americans cannot afford to slip up in their remaining two Group B games, but the Liverpool star has stressed that they are used to playing under pressure and has little doubt they will eventually progress.

“Even before the game we knew that Spain were a better side than us. We lost against the world’s best national team, but we know that the competition’s only just starting,” Suarez told Fifa.com.

“The matches we’ve got coming up are different, and we’ve got to win them to progress. I think we showed a positive attitude and I’m feeling optimistic.

“Uruguayans are used to having it tough. For that reason, we’re not really worried. You just have to look at how we went into the last World Cup and also the result we just picked up in Venezuela. We’re going to get the best out of ourselves.

“Uruguay can go toe-to-toe with anybody, we’re fully aware of that. We might have had a setback against Spain, but there’s still a long way to go and we’re going to bounce back.”

Uruguay take on Nigeria on matchday 2 on June 20.