Brighton & Hove Albion have officially brought in Dutch international midfielder Davy Propper from PSV Eindhoven for a club-record fee.
The 25-year-old joins the Premier League new boys in a deal thought to be slightly more than the £4m handed over to sign Mathew Ryan from Valencia earlier this summer.
Brighton had been closing in on Propper's signature after opening advanced talks with him at the weekend and, with five days to go before their home league opener against Manchester City, the transfer has now been finalised.
Speaking to his new club's official website Propper, who has put pen to paper on a four-year contract, said: "It's the biggest competition in the world, so this will be a great challenge and I think I'm ready for it.
"I know Danny Holla, who played here a few years ago, and he told me a lot about the club. He was very complimentary and that was a big help.
"The club showed me a film, so I know quite a few things about it and the city already. Not every club in Holland has a good stadium, and I really like the one here."
Boss Chris Hughton added: "Davy is a player with great experience of the Eredivisie with Vitesse Arnhem and PSV Eindhoven. There is no doubting his pedigree, Davy has played a number of matches in the Champions League for PSV, as well as international football for the Netherlands.
"He's a strong competitor as a central midfielder and will complement our existing midfield players, and he is also a really good age at 25; we are absolutely delighted to welcome him to the club."
Propper played more than 150 times for Vitesse in the Dutch top flight, before moving on to PSV in 2015 and making a further 39 league appearances.
Daniel Lewis
