Ex-Red Riise signs for Fulham

13 July 2011 11:08
Fulham have completed the signing of John Arne Riise for an undisclosed fee from Roma, with the defender signing a three-year deal.[LNB] The former Liverpool left-back has penned a contract until 2014 at Craven Cottage and will link up with his brother Bjorn Helge in west London.[LNB]Riise has spent the past three seasons plying his trade in Serie A with Roma, having departed from Anfield in 2008.[LNB]The 30-year-old clocked up more than 230 appearances for the Merseysiders after joining them from Monaco in 2001 and the full-back admits it is great to be back in England.[LNB]"I'm delighted to have completed my transfer to Fulham this morning and am looking forward to playing in the Premier League once again," he told the club's official website.[LNB]"Fulham is a club that I have been following as my brother, Bjorn, plays here and he speaks very highly of the club and the staff.[LNB]"Obviously I also played against the club in the Europa League group stage when they went on to reach the final of the competition.[LNB]"I know that the club is ambitious and continues to make good progress each year, under the guidance of the chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed.[LNB]"I am looking forward to working with Martin Jol and the rest of the squad when I report to training next week."[LNB]The Norway international is recently-appointed manager Martin Jol's second signing of the summer, following the arrival of Hungarian goalkeeper Csaba Somogyi earlier this week.[LNB]"John Arne Riise is an experienced international left-back, who will bring a number of qualities to our squad and provide more options for me," said Jol.[LNB]"He is used to performing at the very highest level for both club and country and is an accomplished player defensively, who can also contribute to our attacking play.[LNB]"I am extremely happy that we've been able to add him to our squad, and believe that he will prove a valuable addition as we progress."

Source: Team_Talk