Bolton Wanderers have finally completed the long-winded signing of striker Jermaine Beckford from fellow Championship side Leicester City for an undisclosed fee.
Trotters boss Dougie Freedman has been trying to bring the 29-year-old to the Reebok Stadium since the end of last season.
And having finally got his man, the Glaswegian hopes Beckford will fire in the goals that will help the Whites back into the Premier League.
“He is a goal scorer,” he told Bolton’s official website. “We have worked very hard in order to bring Jermaine to the club – it has been a long winded signing.
“It has been out in the press for the last few weeks but Jermaine is someone I know and I have previously played alongside him so I know his character.
“I just feel in certain games we dominated last season, we weren’t quite clinical enough and that’s what Jermaine brings us.”
The move reunites Beckford with Freedman, who played alongside each other for Leeds United in the 2007/08 campaign.
The transfer is Freedman’s seventh Bolton signing this summer, which has also included Blackpool’s Alex Baptiste and Norwich City’s Marc Tierney.
Having failed to make an impact at Premier League side Everton and at spells at Leicester and Huddersfield Town, Freedman is convinced he can get Beckford back to his old ways.
“He’s right up my street in terms of what I try and buy,” he added to BBC Radio Manchester. “Jermaine has lost that fantastic goalscoring record over the last couple of years.
“He’s got a point to prove in that way, but he doesn’t need to prove anything to me in terms of his attitude.
“He’s a proven goalscorer and I think he’ll be very good for this football club.”
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