Greece international Georgios Samaras has penned a two-year deal at West Bromwich Albion.
The 29-year-old striker becomes the ‘Baggies’ ninth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Chris Baird, Joleon Lescott, Sabastien Pocognoli, Craig Gardner, Brown Ideye, Andre Wisdom (loan), Cristian Gamboa and Jason Davidson.
“He has played a lot of football at the highest levels- Champions League, European Championships and World Cups- and the feedback we’ve got on him, from people like Neil Lennon, states he thrives on the big ocassion,” manager Alan Irvine told the club’s website.
Samaras began his professional career with Dutch outfit Heerenveen in 2002 before moving to Manchester City for £6million in January 2006 at the age of 20. He scored 8 times in 54 league appearances for the English champions before joining Celtic, initially on loan, in January 2008.
Samaras won four Scottish Premier League titles, two FA Cup and a League Cup during his six-year stay at Celtic Park, scoring 53 goals in 108 league starts.
Irvine expressed delights after beating off competitions from Europe to the penmanship of ex-Celtic striker, who will battle for first team shirt with Ideye, Saido Berahino and Victor Anichebe.
“We have now got four strikers with different qualities who can be used in different ways,” added the Scot.
“That’s great for us, because we need to have flexibility, the option to approach games in different ways and cover for injuries.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the four strikers we have.”
Samaras has nine goals in 78 Greece Caps, including a dying minute penalty against Ivory Coast in their final group stage game of the Fifa World Cup earlier in the summer.
