Southampton complete deal for Crystal Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne

Nathaniel Clyne (GETTY IMAGES)

Southampton have confirmed the signing of highly-rated defender Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace.

The 21-year-old England Under-21 international has signed a four-year deal with the Premier League newcomers.

"I'm overwhelmed, really," Clyne told the club's official website.

"As soon as I heard that Southampton were in for me, I was happy and I knew that this was the place where I could try to improve my football, further my career and get a chance to play in the Barclays Premier League."

Clyne was out of contract at Selhurst Park, but he will still command a fee because of his age. The two clubs are still in discussions over compensation and an independent tribunal will decide the fee if an agreement can not be reached.

Speaking after joining up with his new team-mates at their training camp in Evian-les-Bains, he added: "It's a club with a lot of ambition - the gaffer told me that they would want to be pushing for European football.

"We've got good players here - a young bunch of good, talented players who are destined for the top, so I don't see why we can't do it."

Saints boss Nigel Adkins said: "We're delighted that we can finally announce that we've brought Nathaniel Clyne into the group to help us kick onto the next level.

"There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes all summer and, with (head of recruitment] Paul Mitchell and (chairman) Nicola Cortese, we work very hard behind the scenes to make things happen.

"For the last three years Nathaniel has been a very attack-minded full-back who bombs on, he's got pace and he's a good one-on-one defender.

"He got into the Championship team of the year last year, and for such a young age he has had a lot of first-team football in the Championship.

"All being well, we can push him onto the next level now."

Clyne played 123 league games for Palace, scoring once, and has won two caps for England Under-21s.

PA