West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has paid tribute to striker Guillermo Franco and admitted his surprise that he was able to snap him up

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has paid tribute to striker Guillermo Franco and admitted his surprise that he was able to snap him up.

The Mexican hitman has adjusted quickly to the vigors of the Premier League and already finding the net twice in just five starts for the Hammers, leaving his boss a happy man.

"Franco has been very good for me," Zola said.

"I was certainly surprised that Villarreal didn't give him a contract but maybe there was something else there.

"He's proving to be a very good player for us. He's been a very good gain for West Ham United."

Franco scored against Hull last Saturday and put in a sterling display, playing off target man Carlton Cole and the two seem to have already forged a solid partnership up front.

"Guillermo Franco was outstanding," Zola said.

"He is an excellent guy, he works very hard and, above all, he's a very intelligent player. He does that right things for the team and I'm really impressed with him."

West Ham led 2-0 thanks to Franco and Jack Collison, before Hull produced an amazing comeback to lead 3-2 and the Hammers were thankful to Manuel Da Costa's strike, which rescued a point.

""It was a strange game. Maybe we could've handled it better, when we were 2-0 up but I must say that Hull City came back well and they played a good game," Zola said.

"They did very well.