An offer believed to be around ₤14million was accepted for the 29-year-old Welshman, who announced his desire to leave Boleyn Ground.

"If he doesn't want to stay we can't do anything about it," said West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola.

"The player has told me his wishes and I respect that, so I stand by him. I will get the money to spend on other players. We are looking at targets."

Bellamy, who will have a medical at Eastlands, was originally targeted by Tottenham, but City snapped him up as West Ham opted not to deal with their London rivals.

More Deals

The high-spending City carry on their market raid this winter as the sensational link with AC Milan's Kaka is still in progress.

The Citizens are on brink of landing Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong from Hamburg in a deal believed to be worth ₤15million.

Moreover, the Premiership strugglers have declared interest in Wigan hotshot Wilson Palacios, who is on top of Tottenham's shop list as well.