West Ham hope to announce the signing of Canadian defender Doneil Henry.

His work permit application will be submitted on Monday and manager Sam Allardyce has high hopes that 6ft 2in Henry will make the grade in the Barclays Premier League.

Henry already has 14 caps for the senior Canada team and the high-flying Hammers hope that will be enough to get the application through the stringent work permit test, although caps for Canada do not rank highly.

West Ham are hopeful to announce the signing of defender Doneil Henry following a work permit application

Henry has 14 full international caps for Canada and has twice been on trial with the Hammers

West Ham, however, believe the former Canadian U20 player of the year will prove to be a wise signing and will make a strong case.

Apollon Limassol signed him, then loaned him back to Toronto and the Cypriot club will get the transfer fee, even though he has yet to play for them. He was due to make his debut for Appollon in January, but West Ham have stepped in with an offer.

He has been a team-mate of ex-West Ham striker Jermain Defoe in the MLS and the fee is likely to be around £1.5m. He has played 70 times for Toronto after rising through their academy.

West Ham's Winston Reid has not yet signed a new contract with the club and can leave for free in the summer

Henry, 21, has twice been on trial at West Ham and Allardyce has been tracking his performances. Sources say Big Sam was 'impressed' and feels Henry is 'raw, but talented'.

West Ham are searching for a replacement for New Zealand defender Winston Reid who can leave on a free transfer in the summer and is reluctant to sign a new contract. Signing Henry now will give him the chance to prove he can step into Reid's boots.

Henry was coached by former QPR defender Ryan Nelsen at Toronto. Nelsen has high hopes for his protege.

The deal, subject to his work permit being granted, should go through when the transfer window opens on January 1.