SOUTHAMPTON HAVE SIGNED Victor Wanyama from Celtic for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £12 million.
The Kenyan midfielder put pen to paper on a four-year contract which will see him remain at St Mary’s until 2017.
Wanyama, 22, moved to Celtic in 2011 and quickly became a fan favourite at Parkhead, scoring in the Hoops’ Champions League victory against Barcelona as well as winning the SPL Young Player of the Year award last season.
“It feels great and I am happy to be here,” Wanyama told the Saints’ official website this evening.
“There were other options, but Southampton is a club with ambitions so I chose to come here.
Southampton is a good club and it has good players, so I just want to train hard and work hard to be a part of the starting XI. We’ll see where that will take me.I’m very grateful to be here and I’m looking forward to playing in the Premier League.
Southampton originally met Celtic’s asking price late last month but were unable to agree personal terms with Wanyama the first time around.
Despite an attempt by newly-promoted Cardiff City to swoop in and hijack the deal, Wanyama and Southampton ironed out their differences and he now joins the club’s other new signing Dejan Lovren for pre-season training.
“I want to stress that the deal could have been done sooner but this shows that we do business on our terms,” Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino said.
“The most important thing that ourselves, Celtic and the player are all happy with the way it has all gone.
“The fact that a lot of top European clubs were also keen to sign him shows what an attractive prospect Southampton Football Club is to a player who had his pick of the teams in England and abroad.”
