London Stadium pitch below Premier League standard, says Moyes

West Ham are currently top of the table with two wins and a draw from three matches after 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace

LONDON:

West Ham United manager David Moyes criticised the quality of the London Stadium pitch after his side were held to a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher scored his team's first two league goals of the season as they ended West Ham's perfect start to the season in an entertaining London derby.

"We didn't pass the ball as well as we did the other night. There's several reasons for that... The pitch at the London Stadium is really, really poor. It's not an excuse because we played very well on it on Monday night (against Leicester City)," Moyes said.

"Today in the dry, a bit of heat it is not good. You could probably see the amount of times the ball bounced over people's heads and it was very high off the ground. I think we never really got a good enough rhythm in our play.

"I've not enjoyed the quality of the pitch at all, and I've known about it. Even the first game I wasn't happy about it. It's just not good enough, it is certainly below Premier League standards at the moment."

West Ham are currently joint top of the Premier League table as they head into the first international break of the season. They will take on Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Sept. 11.

West Ham sign France defender Zouma from Chelsea

West Ham United have signed France defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea on a four-year contract, the two Premier League clubs announced on Saturday.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but British media reported that West Ham would pay about 25 million pounds ($34.42 million) for the 26-year-old centre back.

"(Zouma) is a player we have tracked for some time, and we have taken great care and diligence to make the transfer happen. He was always our first choice and I'm very happy that he's now our player," West Ham manager David Moyes said in a statement.

Zouma made 36 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions last season, helping the team win the Champions League title and finish fourth in the Premier League.

Zouma made 151 appearances in all competitions after joining from St Etienne in 2014. He also had loan stints with Stoke City and Everton after suffering a serious knee injury in 2016.

“I just felt like he (Moyes) really wanted me to come and join the team, especially a good team that’s started the season very, very well,” said Zouma.

“With the great season that West Ham had last year, that gave the team a lot of confidence to improve this year -- and I want to help the team do that.”