Aston Villa have completed the signing of defender Zat Knight from Fulham.
Knight, 27-year-old, has signed a four-year deal at Villa Park after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Villa have paid Fulham £3.5million for the England international.
Villa boss Martin O’Neill said: “Zat has got a lot of natural talent. I’m hoping that if he performs the way he can perform and has done in the past, we can expect him to be a big asset.”
Knight was delighted to be making the move to his boyhood heroes.
“I have been supporting Villa ever since I first got to know and understand about football really, so it was from a young age,” Knight told the club’s official website. “I’m from Aston for starters, so it always made complete sense to support them.
“Villa were my local team, simple as that.
“I had trials at schoolboy level for Villa but it never got any further than that. As a youngster that was obviously really disappointing, but as it turned out I got opportunities elsewhere and it all turned out good in the end.”
Knight only signed a new three-year deal with Fulham in the summer but boss Lawrie Sanchez was prepared to let him move on.
Knight, who made two full England appearances in 2005, will give O’Neill options at centre-back alongside Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen and Gary Cahill.
