Tony Pulis ’very pleased’ to see Rickie Lambert sign West Brom deal

West Brom have completed the signing of Rickie Lambert on a two-year-contract after swiftly concluding negotiations for the Liverpool striker.

It’s understood the Baggies have paid just under £3 million (€4.26m) for the 33-year-old, meaning the Reds will make a loss of more than a £1m on the player who only joined them from Southampton last summer.

Lambert made an ideal start to his West Brom career, opening the scoring in the 23rd minute in the friendly against Bristol Rovers last night.

The fee was agreed around lunchtime yesterday and Lambert travelled down to Birmingham for a medical ahead of the deal being completed late in the day.

His move to Liverpool 13 months ago was touted as a dream return for a player rejected by the club’s academy, but it quickly became apparent things were not going to work out and Lambert turned down a move to West Brom’s midlands rivals Aston Villa in January after the Reds accepted he was no longer part of manager Brendan Rodgers’ plans.

“Rickie is a good, strong, solid player who is a great character, good in the dressing room and good on the pitch,” Baggies head coach Tony Pulis told the club’s official website.

“We are very pleased to have him on board.

“He’s a player of great pedigree and we look forward to integrating him into our squad.”

Lambert made 36 appearances for Liverpool last season but most of those were as a substitute as he never really got a run in the side even with main striker Daniel Sturridge injured for much of the campaign.

He scored just three goals, two of those in back-to-back matches in November when he was given a chance to start, but never really looked like a long-term option.

Meanwhile Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic has completed his loan move to Inter Milan.

The Premier League club have confirmed the 25-year-old has joined Inter on a year-and-a-half loan deal, with a view to a permanent transfer.

Jovetic joined City from Fiorentina in the summer of 2013, but has not been a regular in Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

The move is not a surprise. Jovetic passed a medical earlier in the week and later sent a message to City’s fans on Instagram which read ``thank you and farewell’’.

A City statement said: “Stevan Jovetic has signed for Inter Milan on a year-and-a-half’s loan with a view to a permanent transfer. The 25-year-old Montenegrin joined City from Fiorentina in summer 2013, but injury has consistently upset his progress for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.”

Aston Villa made a double swoop, securing the signatures of striker Rudy Gestede from Blackburn and French midfielder Jordan Veretout from Nantes.

Gestede, 25, passed a medical to finalise his move from Blackburn to Villa Park on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, soon after Jordan Veretout joined the Premier League outfit. Villa manager Sherwood had been looking to bolster his attacking options after the sale of Christian Benteke to Liverpool, and turned to Benin international Gestede who found the back of the net 22 times for Blackburn last season.

French midfielder Jordan Veretout arrives for an undisclosed fee from Ligue 1 club Nantes.