Wolves sign Swansea goalkeeper Dorus de Vries on three-year contact

Jun 22 2011

Wolves have completed their second signing in 24 hours with keeper Dorus de Vries moving from Swansea on a three-year contract.

Dutchman De Vries was available on a Bosman transfer with his contract with the Barclays Premier League newcomers expiring on July 1.

He will follow midfielder Jamie O'Hara, who yesterday signed from Tottenham in a £5million deal, to Molineux.

De Vries will provide competition for Wayne Hennessey after the release of Marcus Hahnemann.

He said: "I'm really pleased and positive about the move. As soon as I got the call from Wolves I had a really good vibe about it and a positive feeling.

"I thought this would be the fresh step I need in terms of progressing.

"That's all I look for as a player - to progress every year on and off the pitch both as a goalkeeper and as a person. This is a totally different challenge for me."

De Vries added: "At Swansea I have been number one for a few years now having had four great seasons and seeing the club go from League One up to the Premier League.

"We got promoted through the play-offs at Wembley which was a great experience but this is the next step for me.

"Wolves are a club with all the fundamentals in place to grow and expectations are higher than at Swansea at this moment in time.

"It was a difficult decision for me to leave Swansea and did cause a few sleepness nights.

"I had a great time at Swansea and a great relationship with all the guys there who I have worked with for the last four years.

"But sometimes as a professional player you have to get out of your comfort zone a little bit to be able to find your true potential.

"This is the big step for me and I am really looking forward to it."

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey said: "Mick McCarthy was aiming to bring in an experienced goalkeeper to provide competition for Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme and Dorus certainly fits that bill.

"He has played a key role in a Swansea team which has been very successful in recent seasons in moving from League One through to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final.

"Dorus was their first choice goalkeeper throughout those promotions and has only missed a handful of league games in the last four years.

"He has shown in those years that he is a very good goalkeeper, and it is refreshing that he is happy to move to a club where he knows he is going to face a major battle just to get into the team."