Napoli sign Cavani from Palermo

SSC Napoli have signed Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani from US Città di Palermo for a reported fee that is expected to reach €17m.

The 23-year-old has signed a contract running until 2015. "Cavani is a great player," said Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis. "We've been following him for a month and, although several other clubs tried to sign him, we've moved faster. We're proud to give another big players to our fans." Cavani began his career with Danubio FC before joining Palermo in January 2007 and immediately establishing himself as a regular, scoring 35 goals in 114 appearances, including 15 in each of the last two seasons.

The striker, who only signed a new four-year Palermo deal in April, further impressed in the recent FIFA World Cup where he helped Uruguay to the semi-finals, scoring in the 3-2 third-place play-off defeat by Germany. Overall he has 23 caps and joins a team who, like Palermo, begin their UEFA Europa League campaign in the play-off round, with the draw on 6 August and the matches on the last two Thursdays of next month. Earlier on Saturday, Palermo signed left-back Santiago García from CA Rosario Central and made goalkeeper Giacomo Brichetto's loan move permanent on a three-year deal.