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Fulham have completed the signing of striker Andy Johnson from Everton for an initial fee of around £10.5million.
The former Crystal Palace marksman had been set to sign for the Cottagers late last month, only for an issue with his routine medical to temporarily scupper the deal.
Scans were believed to have revealed concerns over an old knee injury and Fulham officials sought to renegotiate the terms of the transfer with Everton.
Rather than paying out a fee in the region of £12million, Roy Hodgson's side will now only pay £10.5million up front for the 27-year-old England squad member.
Fulham FC statement:
Fulham Football Club has today completed the signing of Andrew Johnson from Everton. Johnson signs on a 4 year deal for an undisclosed fee, which will see him at the Club until the summer of 2012.
The 27-year-old striker joined Everton in May 2006 from Crystal Palace for £8.6m and made 73 appearances and scored 22 goals during his time at Goodison Park. He finished his first season at Everton as the Club’s top scorer having started the campaign with six goals in the opening seven matches; including two goals in a 3-0 win over Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
Johnson started his career at Birmingham City in 1997 but rapidly came to the fore when he signed for Crystal Palace in July 2002, making 160 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 85 goals. The 32 goals he netted during 2003-04, the highest in the Championship Division that season, helped secure Crystal Palace’s promotion to the Premier League.
He ended the 2004-05 season as the Premier League’s top English goalscorer and made his England International debut in February 2005 against Holland, when he replaced Wayne Rooney as a second-half substitute.
Speaking at Fulham’s training ground this morning Manager Roy Hodgson said:
‘I have made no secret of my wish to add Andy Johnson to my squad at Fulham. I believe that he has all the qualities needed to assist us in next season’s campaign and I am more than delighted that we have secured his services for the long term.
"There has been a lot of speculation regarding this transfer during the last week, very little of which has had any foundation.
"I am just happy to be able to focus on the positive news that Andy Johnson is now a Fulham player, one who we have great hopes for, and I am grateful to the Chairman, the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive for working tirelessly to make this possible."