Half measure as Hammers land Bellamy

But Cisse dashed West Ham's hopes of a dramatic £16million raid on Anfield by sticking to his guns and finally landing his dream move home to France with Marseille.

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Hammers completed the signing of Bellamy for an initial £7.5m, rising to £8m, but they suffered further frustration over Cisse as the France frontrunner followed Darren Bent's lead by turning his back on Upton Park.

Much as Bent held out for a move to Tottenham, Cisse could not be talked out of waiting for Marseille to end weeks of haggling and turn last season's loan deal into a permanent transfer.

The French side, who also signed freed ex-Liverpool midfielder Bolo Zenden, had angered Anfield chiefs by repeatedly pleading poverty, despite Franck Ribery's big-money summer switch to Bayern Munich.

With West Ham and Portsmouth both meeting Liverpool's valuation, though, they finally relented and agreed to a number of staged payments that will ultimately allow Liverpool to recoup £8m of the then-record £14m they paid Auxerre three years ago.

Cisse will at last end an unhappy Anfield stay on Monday and clear the way for Liverpool to step up their efforts to recruit West Ham's Yossi Benayoun and Manchester United left-back Gabriel Heinze.

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With Benayoun making no secret of his wish to join Liverpool, and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley reluctantly deciding he can go, the Israel midfielder looks to be Anfield-bound for about £5m.

After having an initial offer of around £3m turned down Anfield bosses face more hard bargaining to land a player Benitez targeted a month ago in his quest for more width.