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Slaven Bilic will look to wrap up deals for Marseille duo Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac and Sampdoria's Pedro Obiang after he rejoined West Ham as manager.

French striker Gignac was waiting to see who the Hammers appointed to succeed Sam Allardyce before deciding upon his next move, having already received a huge contract offer from West Brom.

The 29-year-old striker, who scored 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille last season, is available on a free. Southampton, Stoke and Newcastle are also interested in him.

Winger Ayew, also a target for Serie A side Roma, is said to be in talks with Swansea but West Ham have offered him £70,000 a week.

And the Hammers have already lodged a £5.75million bid for Spanish midfielder Obiang.

The 23-year-old box-to-box midfielder was tracked by Hammers scouts last season as he scored three times in 33 Serie A games for the club.

Obiang, capped by Spain at Under-17, U19 and U21 level, is also a target for clubs in Italy as well as his homeland, where he started his career in the Atletico Madrid youth set-up before leaving for Genoa-based Sampdoria at 16.

Former Hammers defender Bilic insisted he could not turn down his old club - even though he was one of the last men they looked at for the job.

Bilic, 46, has signed a three-year deal at Upton Park following spells with Croatia, Lokomotiv Moscow and Besiktas.

He said: "I could feel that they really wanted me so it was an easy choice. My first priority when choosing a club is to look at its ambitions.

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"When I spoke to the chairmen and [vice-chairman] Karren Brady, they made it clear that it is not only the fantastic new stadium we are moving into.

"They showed their determination and ambition to make what is a big club even bigger."

The former defender made 58 appearances for the East Londoners and is a favourite among the club's fans.

However the supporters were split, with many preferring Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa - and the Hammers pursued several other candidates beforehand.

Another former West Ham defender, Rio Ferdinand, backed the move for Bilic.

(Image: Mark Thompson)

Ferdinand, now a pundit on BT Sport Europe, played alongside Bilic as a Hammers youngster in 1996-97 and said: "He's a solid appointment. He did a good job with Croatia and showed his credentials.

"He had 18 months at West Ham where he was a very good player and someone I looked up to as a defender. He's a really nice guy I met him since through a number of friends.

"It seems he's got a good future at West Ham and it'll be a good place for him to be."