Smertin seals Fulham deal

Fulham have confirmed the signing of Alexei Smertin on a contract until 2009.

Fulham have confirmed the signing of Alexei Smertin on a contract until 2009.

The Russian midfielder has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Premiership club after securing his release from Dinamo Moscow.

Smertin returned to his homeland 12 months ago from Chelsea, having also had loan spells at Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth.

Charlton had been keen to re-sign the defensive midfielder, and West Ham United were also interested, leading Fulham boss Chris Coleman to express his happiness with his recruit.

"Alexei's quality speaks for itself and we had to beat off some fierce competition from other Premiership clubs to get his signature, so it's a feather in our cap that he's chosen to come here," Coleman told the club's official website.

"He is another versatile player, he can play centre midfield, centre-back and he reads the game so well with great experience, so I'm delighted that he has joined us.

"All in all I think we have had a very successful transfer period and I'm looking forward to pushing on now and climbing the table, and I've no doubt the new additions will help us do that."

Smertin, who originally moved to the Premiership from Bordeaux in 2003, is excited to have the chance to play in England again.

He said: "I'm happy to have been able to sort everything out with Dinamo to allow me to come and play in the Premiership again.

"I had a good experience during my time here previously and I firmly believe more than before that the Premiership is the most challenging domestic competition in world football, so I am very happy to be able to play in it again."