Zayn Malik thinks One Direction's new single is ''sick''.

The 22-year-old singer - who shockingly left the chart-topping boy band earlier this year - has revealed he is a fan of their latest release 'Drag Me Down', their first since his departure.

He wrote on Twitter: ''Proud of my boys the new single is sick. Big love. :) x (sic)''

The news of the group's single comes only days after Zayn revealed he had signed a solo deal with RCA Records.

Revealing the news on the micro blogging site and captioning a photograph of him signing the record deal, he wrote: ''I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA !! ... #REALME (sic)''

Fans and friends were quick to congratulate him including the boss of his old record label Syco Music, Simon Cowell.

He wrote: ''We have been working on this for a while and I am pleased to say congratulations to @Zaynmalik on signing with @RCARecords ...

''I believe they are the perfect label for @ZaynMalik's solo career and I am sure whatever they release together will be special (sic).''