Bayer Leverkusen have signed 19-year-old Jamaican winger Leon Bailey from Belgian club Genk on a five-year contract.
The Bundesliga outfit confirmed the deal for the highly-rated forward on transfer deadline day, with reports suggesting the fee agreed was around £12.8million.
With the player having attracted interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, Leverkusen were delighted with their coup.
‘With Leon Bailey, we have once again been able to secure a promising player to us for a long time,’ managing director Michael Schade told the club’s website.
‘This boy also stood at the top of the wish-list for many other European clubs. We are all the more fortunate that we have been able to resist such strong competition.’
The news will come as a blow to Premier League side Hull City who, as Sportsmail revealed, were hoping to beat their rivals to Bailey by making a quick move for him this month.
On Monday, Marco Silva confirmed he was targeting three or four ‘quality’ players with a replacement for Robert Snodgrass an obvious priority. Bailey, known for his attack prowess from wide positions, would have been as suitable candidate.
‘Bayer 04 is a good club,’ he said. ‘I would like to take the next important step here. Leverkusen is well known for its development. And the way football is played here is attractive. I like that.’
Sporting director Rudi Voller added: ‘He is an exceptionally fast, very tricky player, which gives us additional momentum offensively.