Football
ESPN staff 10y

Southampton bring in Dusan Tadic

Southampton have completed the signing of playmaker Dusan Tadic from Twente for an undisclosed fee.

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Tadic, 25, has signed a four-year contract and is Ronald Koeman's first signing as Saints manager.

The Serbia international, who has won 25 caps for his country, says he cannot wait to start working under Southampton's new boss.

"It is a really nice feeling to sign. This is a really nice club of which I have heard a lot of good things about," he told Southampton's official website.

"I have already seen the beautiful training centre and there are lots of nice people that work here including the coaches so I am really happy to be here.

"I watched a lot of [Southampton's] games last season and saw that the club plays really nice football which will suit me because I like to play in the same way.

"The manager obviously knows me from the Dutch league so, when he called me and told me his plan, it was an easy decision to make.

"I know the manager well because he is one of the biggest Dutch legends in football -- everyone knows him.

"He is a really good coach and you can always expect his teams to play well because he is leading them and because he is so good tactically. I am really excited to start playing for the club."

Southampton have already seen Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw depart the club this summer, while a number of other players have been linked with an exit.

Koeman, though, is delighted to have brought in Tadic and hopes he is the first of many new signings.

"It was very important to get this signing done -- not only for me, but for the rest of the squad and for our fans. It's fantastic news," he said.

"We've lost some good players but we want to continue the ambition and philosophy of the club, so it's a great signal to have brought in our first player.

"He's a great player. I know him very well from Holland, where he had a great season last year.

"We now look forward to bringing in more players because we want to continue and maybe even better what Southampton did last season."

Tadic finished top of the Eredivisie's assists table last season with 14, while his 16 goals made him the fourth-highest scorer in the division.

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