Birmingham have signed Chelsea full-back Mario Melchiot on a free transfer.
The 27-year-old Dutch international has signed a three-year contract after spending the last five years at Stamford Bridge.
He is the club's fourth summer signing, following the arrivals of Emile Heskey, Muzzy Izzet and Julian Gray.
"He is a player that I have admired for a long time. He's a quality player with international pedigree," said Birmingham boss Steve Bruce.
Melchiot joined Chelsea from Ajax Amsterdam in June 1999. He will link up again with Mikael Forssell, who is on loan at Birmingham from Chelsea.
Birmingham may have missed out on Chelsea team-mate Jesper Gronkjaer after Sevilla claimed they had signed the winger.
Melchiot was a product of Ajax's youth system and he made 61 appearances for the Dutch club before joining Chelsea five years ago, again on a Bosman free
transfer.
He made a total of 175 appearances for Chelsea, scoring five goals and winning an FA Cup winner's medal.
"It is a sign of the times that Birmingham City can attract such quality players, something that many people would not have thought possible all that long ago," said Blues chairman David Gold.
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Another great signing by Bruce - our defence should have more balance now
