STOKE CITY have today boosted their attacking options by securing the loan signing of Norwegian international John Carew from Aston Villa.
The 31-year-old striker has opted to join City until the end of the 2010-11 season after agreeing terms with the Club over a four-month loan.
Manager Tony Pulis moved quickly to acquire a player with Carew's experience and goalscoring pedigree once Darren Bent's transfer to Aston Villa earlier this week opened the door for him to seek a fresh opportunity elsewhere.
After holding talks with City over the move on Thursday, he finalised the move to the Britannia Stadium in time to train with his new colleagues today and goes straight into the squad for the Barclays Premier League match at Fulham.
"This is a fantastic signing," said Pulis. "John's record speaks for itself because he has scored goals at the highest level throughout his career.
"As well as all the experience he has gained at international level, he has top played for some top, top clubs across Europe and performed in the Champion League for many seasons, including an appearance in the final for Valencia.
"On top of that, he was Aston Villa's leading scorer last season with 17 goals, so we have acquired a striker with outstanding pedigree."
Born and raised in Norway, Carew began his career with local club Lorenskog but first shot to prominence when he joined Rosenborg where his performances in the European Champions League brought him to the attention of Valencia.
He joined the Spanish club in a £7 million transfer in the year 2000 and in his four years there he helped them to win La Liga twice and also appeared in the Champions League Final where they eventually lost on penalties to Bayern Munich.
Carew's goals were also responsible for knocking Arsenal out of the Champions League on two occasions in his time at Valencia before he eventually moved to Turkish club Besiktas in 2004 after a short loan spell with Italian club Roma.
After one season in Serie A, he joined French club Lyon for £6 million, but then an exchange deal with Milan Baros took him to Villa four years ago.
A consistent goalscorer with the West Midlands club, his 17 goals last season saw him finish as the club's joint top goalscorer with Gabriel Agbonlahor and he was also the top marksman in the FA Cup, bagging a hat-trick in the quarter final win over Reading.
The experienced striker has also won 85 caps for his country, scoring 23 goals, and he made his debut for Norway in November 1998.
*Carew will wear squad number 22.
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