Fulham have confirmed the signing of Southampton midfielder Shea Charles in a deal worth up to £30m.
The 22-year-old becomes the most expensive Northern Irish footballer of all-time after signing a five year contract at Craven Cottage.
The fee consists of a £26m fee up front with a potential further £6m in performance-related add-ons.
Charles, who started his career at Manchester City, also attracted interest from Leeds United but has opted to move to west London to replace Sasa Lukic following his £9m move to Ipswich Town last week.
He becomes Fulham‘s third signing since the appointment of new manager Alvaro Arbeloa after his spell leading Real Madrid on an interim basis during the second half of last season.
Charles also becomes Fulham‘s third most expensive signing behind striker Gonzalo Garcia, who joined from Real Madrid earlier this month, and winger Kevin from Shakhtar last summer. Both deals were worth about £34m.
Since Arbeloa’s arrival – following the departure of Marco Silva to take charge of Benfica – Fulham have signed two players from Madrid, Garcia and midfielder Cesar Palacios, before the capture of Charles.
The Cottagers travel to Malaga on Wednesday and host face German club Stuttgart on Saturday, 15 August before Chelsea are their visitors on Monday, 24 August in their Premier League opener.
