Stoke City have signed goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen on a three-year contract after he left Aston Villa earlier this summer.

The Danish international has been on trial with the club recently and was available on a free transfer after being released by Villa at the end of last season.

He becomes Tony Pulis' third recruit ahead of their maiden Premier League campaign, following Dave Kitson and Seyi Olofinjana.

Pulis was very pleased with the signing which he described as "superb business".

He said: "Thomas is a fantastic acquisition for this football club."

"He has played almost 400 games in the Premier League and been number one for Denmark for a very long time. "

"The fact that we have got him on a free transfer too is superb business for us, because I believe he is a very, very good goalkeeper."

Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes said: "The club are delighted to have attracted a player of the quality and calibre of Thomas. "

"He becomes our third major signing of the summer following on from Dave Kitson and Seyi Olofinjana.

"Thomas is still the Danish number one, and is a player who possesses bags of top-flight experience."

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Sunderland have completed the signing of El-Hadji Diouf from Bolton Wanderers.

Diouf has signed a four-year deal after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

The Senegalese international had been seeking a move away from Bolton since the end of last season and Sunderland have now taken him to at the Stadium of Light.

Diouf is Sunderland's fifth signing of the summer and the Black Cat's manager Roy Keane was delighted to land the forward.

"El-Hadji is a great signing for us and we're thrilled to get him in," said Keane "He has bags of Premier League and international experience, which is exactly what we've been targeting this summer."
"El-Hadji has always been the kind of player opposition teams and supporters love to hate, a thorn in the side, and that's why we're delighted to now have him in our squad."

"Our coach, Ricky Sbragia, has also worked very closely with him and speaks extremely highly of him, so we're looking forward to working with El-Hadji. I think he's a signing that will excite our supporters."

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Pascal Chimbonda has signed a three-year contract at the Stadium of Light after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee for the player.

Chimbonda (29), signed for Spurs  in August 2006 from Wigan Athletic for £4.5million.

He follows team mate Teemu Tainio's in moving from White Hart Lane to the north east.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane said: "He'll give us more options at the back, creating more competition for places there, so all-in-all it is a fantastic signing for us." 

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Teemu Tainio has agreed a three-year deal and joined Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.

The Finish international midfielder made 83 appearances for Spurs since joining them from Auxerre in 2005.

Taino becomes the first signing of the summer for Roy Keane and he is confident that Tainio will prove to be an valuable addition to his squad for the coming season.

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Manager Roy Keane said: "Yorkie's experience on and off the pitch has been invaluable to us.

"He's a great character to have in the dressing room and around the training ground and he will have a part to play for us next season." ... more