LONDON (AFP) - Former Cameroon international Alex Song has returned to West Ham United on a season-long loan from Barcelona, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old former Arsenal midfielder, who announced his international retirement earlier this year, spent last season on loan at Upton Park, making 31 appearances in all competitions.

"It has just been confirmed. Alex Song has signed a season-long loan deal to join West Ham," West Ham co-owner David Gold wrote on Twitter. "Welcome back Alex."

Song told the West Ham website: "I am very happy. When I left, I didn't know I would come back here. It was not easy, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is I'm here now and I'm very happy.

"I feel at home, everything feels at home, for my family too, they're set up very well here. My kids are playing for West Ham academy."

Song is West Ham's eighth signing of the transfer window, following goalkeeper Darren Randolph, defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Carl Jenkinson and midfielders Pedro Obiang, Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and George Dobson.