Hamburg sign Rene Adler

Hamburg have signed German international Rene Adler.

The goalkeeper had fallen down the pecking order at Bayern Leverkusen, with teenager Bernd Leno establishing herself as number one, allowing Hamburg to take advantage of his status and snap up Adler.

"When one is offered a 27-year-old international goalkeeper for free, you have to seize the opportunity," said Hamburg's sporting director Frank Arnesen.

Adler has been capped 10 times by Germany and joined Leverkusen as a youth player in 2000.

Hamburg, who finished 15th in the Bundesliga, have also signed Latvian striker Artjoms Rudnevs from Polish outfit Lech Poznan on a four-year contract.

Rudnevs, 24 and capped 16 times, scored 22 times in 29 matches for Poznan this season.