Fulham have completed the signing of Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno on a three-year contract for a reported fee of £8 million ($9.74m).
It represents a significant loss on the £20 million Arsenal paid Bayer Leverkusen for the Germany international in June 2018.
Leno, 30, kept 37 clean sheets in his 125 appearances for Arsenal. However, lost his place to Aaron Ramsdale last season, and said he was relieved to finally push the deal to sign for the Cottagers over the line.
He told FFCtv: “It feels amazing to finally be here. I can’t wait to join the team, to train and play with the team.
“I’m relieved that everything is done. I’m just happy to be here. It took a little bit of time, but in the end we made it and that’s the most important thing.”
Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan said: “Bernd Leno is the goalkeeper whom we have pursued steadfastly throughout this transfer window, and we’re very excited that we’ve reached a transfer agreement and he’s now fully committed to Fulham.
“He has played at the highest level, and he’ll bring this experience and his leadership to our team. He’ll be a great addition to [head coach] Marco’s [Silva] squad, who are all excited for the season ahead.”
Leno becomes fourth addition to Marco Silva's squad following their promotion to the Premier League last season.
Midfielders João Palhinha and Andreas Pereira were signed from Sporting and Manchester United respectively while defender Kevin Mbabu joined from Wolfsburg.
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