West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has praised Southampton for their signing of Charlie Austin in the recent January transfer window.

The Saints bagged last season's fourth-highest Premier League goalscorer for a fee of £4m as Queens Park Rangers decided to cash in instead of letting the striker run down his contract to the summer.

Austin came off the bench to score the winner on his debut at Old Trafford last month, but missed Southampton's trip to Arsenal in midweek with a knock. However, he is expected to return tomorrow evening against the Hammers and Bilic described him as a "great player".

"He has proved himself - he's not one of those who has only done it in the Championship," Bilic told reporters. "He did it last year in the Premier League, scoring many goals for a team who were relegated, so for that money he should be a great buy.

"To add to that he scored the winner at Old Trafford in his first game, so it's a flying start for him. It was a bit of a surprise that he went for that kind of money. In England that is a small transfer."

West Ham and Southampton sit sixth and seventh in the Premier League ahead of tomorrow meeting at St Mary's.