Barcelona’s Song can be West Ham’s version of Yaya Toure – Allardyce

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes Alex Song can be the east London version of Yaya Toure this season.

The Cameroon international is on a season-long loan from Barcelona and has so far impressed in midfield for the Hammers who sit fourth on the Premier League table.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash with reigning premiers Manchester City, Allardyce spoke of the former Arsenal star’s impact at Upton Park and suggests he can have as much influence for West Ham as Toure has at City.

“We’ve got that type of signing in Alex Song,” he said.

“That’s a Yaya Toure-type signing for us. He’s a top quality player of the highest calibre and he’ll provide the sort of service our front line need.

“He links everything together very well so we’ve got a top quality international player that’s played for Arsenal, for Barcelona and in the Champions League.

“He’s obviously being slightly overshadowed by (in-form summer signings) Enner Valencia and (Diafra) Sakho at the moment but he’ll have a big impact for us.”