Coleman delighted to sign Christanval on three-year contract

FULHAM boss Chris Coleman has pledged to help Philippe Christanval revive his career after agreeing terms with the out-of-contract former France defender yesterday.

Christanval has signed a three-year contract after spending the week at the club’s Motspur Park training ground and will be available for tomorrow’s Premiership trip to Newcastle if the paperwork is completed.

The 27-year-old’s arrival ends Coleman’s long search for an experienced centre-back with the Fulham manager’s efforts to strengthen his rearguard during the last two transfer windows proving unsuccessful. In Christanval, who has enjoyed stints with Monaco and Barcelona, he has recruited a player desperate to re-establish himself for club and country after a disappointing spell at Marseille coincided with his France exile in 2003. The six-cap international is determined to put two troubled years behind him and Coleman is only too happy to provide the platform for him to realise his ambitions.