Southampton sign Jeremy Pied on two-year deal

Southampton have completed the signing of defender Jeremy Pied on a two-year contract.

The 27-year-old Frenchman moves to St Mary's on a free transfer following a four-year spell at Nice.

Pied is no stranger to Claude Puel's management having worked under his guidance in Lyon and Nice.

"I am very happy to be able to join this new team," Pied told Southampton's official website. "I'm very proud. The English league is a very attractive one and it was a goal of mine to be able to play in it.

"I'm now very happy to join Southampton. You only have to look at the facilities and their results over the last few seasons to know that this is a very good Premier League club."

Executive director of football Les Reed added: "The signing of Jeremy confirms the commitment of Southampton to succeed again in the Premier League and Europa League, as well as go for a run in the cup competitions.

"We already have a top quality right-back in Cedric, whose achievements with Portugal in the summer were outstanding. While Jeremy will provide excellent competition, he is also a versatile defender and again will be pushing Cedric, Cuco [Martina] and the other current defensive incumbents hard.

"The squad is training very well and there is real competition all-round, which is only right for an ambitious team. They will all be called upon this year to contribute to our pursuit for success, and Jeremy will only add to that."

Pied made 83 appearances during his time at Nice.