London calling as Pavlyuchenko joins Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur FC have completed the signing of Russian international striker Roman Pavlyuchenko from FC Spartak Moskva for a fee reported to be in the region of €17m.

Visa application 
Further contract details for the 26-year-old, who scored three goals in five appearances at UEFA EURO 2008™, have not been released. Pavlyuchenko missed Spartak's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg at FC Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday to return to Russia ahead of his move to White Hart Lane. "I'm already back in Moscow," he told uefa.com at the time. "I am waiting to receive a UK visa and then I'll fly to London to sign a contract. Everything went really fast."

English lessons 
Tottenham confirmed the switch on Saturday for the player who topped the goalscoring charts in Russia's Premier-Liga in 2006 and 2007. "I don't know the language, but I'll take English lessons," he added. "Besides, my wife Larisa knows the language a little bit, which will help."

UEFA Cup contests
Pavlyuchenko joined Spartak from SC Rotor Volgograd in 2003 and scored 69 goals in 141 league games for the club while he has taken his tally to nine international goals from 23 caps. His new club will face Wisla Kraków in the first round of the UEFA Cup this season, while his former team-mates begin their campaign in the same competition against FC Baník Ostrava.