Hull seal record Gardner swoop

Defender completes permanent move to Tigers

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 14th August 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hull seal record Gardner swoop

Gardner: Record signing

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Hull have confirmed the signing of Anthony Gardner from Tottenham on a permanent basis.

Gardner joined the Tigers on a six-month loan deal in July, but the Premier League new boys had the option to buy him at any stage.

They have now pushed through the transfer for a club record fee of £2.5million, with Gardner agreeing a three-year contract.

Phil Brown has been impressed by Gardner over the last few weeks and is set to hand the 27-year-old a competitive debut in the season opener against Fulham on Saturday.

Brown said: "We had an option to make the deal permanent at any stage, so I spoke to him and asked him if he would be happy to stay.

High expectations

"He has been at the club for four or five weeks now and he said he would, so he now becomes our record signing."

He added: "Anthony did go there [Spurs] with high expectations.

"He got an England cap and things were running quite smoothly when he first arrived but then he hit a brick wall in terms of selection, injuries, form, pressure at the club.

"A lot of things got in the way and hopefully we can get his career back on track."

Brown has been busy strengthening his squad this summer and Gardner's signing comes just hours after Marlon King sealed a loan move from Wigan.