(Reuters) - Southampton have signed forward Che Adams from Birmingham City on a five-year deal, the Premier League club said on Monday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but British media reported Southampton paid Birmingham 15 million pounds ($18.95 million) for the 22-year-old forward, who was short-listed for the Championship player of the year last season.
Adams registered 22 goals and six assists in 48 appearances for Birmingham last season.
"Che fits the profile of player we want to bring to Southampton and is very driven to show what he can do at the highest level," Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl told the club website https://southamptonfc.com/news/2019-07-01/che-adams-birmingham-to-southampton-announcement-1-july-2019.
"We have been monitoring his progress for some time now. He has shown a desire to join us above all other clubs, which shows the positive reputation Southampton has built for developing young players."
Adams is Southampton's second major signing ahead of the 2019-20 season following the arrival of Malian winger Moussa Djenepo.
"They are both young, dynamic players with the level of enthusiasm and hunger we are looking for that can help us improve as a team,” Hasenhuttl said.
($1 = 0.7915 pounds)
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)