Leicester sign Ulloa for club-record £8m
- adamhigginsuk
- Jul 22, 2014
- 2 min read
The man for goals: Ulloa became a prolific scorer at the AMEX Stadium, scoring 23 goals for Brighton since joining in January 2013 (Picture from Sky Sports)
LEICESTER City have broken their club transfer record to snap up Brighton striker Leonardo Ulloa for £8 million.
The 27-year-old Argentine scored 16 goals in the Championship last season as the Seagulls reached the play-offs.
Ulloa will wear the number 23 shirt and has signed a four-year contract with the newly-promoted Premier League side.
The highest amount the Foxes had previously paid out was £5.5 million to Wolves for striker Ade Akinbiyi in July 2000.
Ulloa scored 25 goals in 52 league appearances for Brighton after joining from the Spanish side Almería in January 2013, including 16 goals last season to help them reach the Championship play-offs, where they lost to Derby in the semi-finals.
Brighton confirmed they had received a club-record fee for the striker, saying in a statement: "Leo Ulloa has completed his transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion to Leicester City, after the club reluctantly agreed to sell the striker for a club-record transfer fee."
Chairman Tony Bloom said the Championship club accepted a record fee after Ulloa made it clear he wanted to play in the Premier League.
"It was then a case of ensuring we received our valuation," he said.
Brighton had never received more than the £1.5m they were paid for Bobby Zamora by Tottenham in 2003, Adam Virgo by Celtic in 2005 and Elliott Bennett by Norwich City in 2011.
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said the former Castellon and San Lorenzo forward was someone the Championship winners had been looking at for quite a while.
He said on his club's website: "We identified Leo as a player that could help us move forward quite some time ago.
"He complements the forwards we already have very well and his attributes broaden the options available to us, which will be important this season. I’m delighted we’ve been able to add him to the squad.
"He has adapted extremely well to the English game in a relatively short period of time and I’m sure he will have a great deal to offer us in the Premier League."
ULLOA'S CAREER STATS:
23 goals in 50 appearances for Brighton
39 goals in 90 appearances for Almeria
30 goals in 78 appearances for Castellon
3 goals in 14 appearances for Olimpo
3 goals in 12 appearances for Arsenal Sarandi
3 goals in 32 appearances for San Lorenzo
1 goal in 7 appearances for C.A.I.
Last updated: 22 July 2014 13:09pm
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