Siem signs on!

A better de Jong? I had almost finished writing an article late last night when news broke which meant I had to pretty much bin the whole thing.

Never mind. I've had a nice couple of weeks in Turkey enjoying the culture (Efes, Raki, Quad Bikes etc) so don't mind starting again.

Anyway the subject of the planned article was that basically that during all the time I've been away stationed in some mountains somewhere not too far from Syria, in a land forgotten by the internet, that nothing has changed.

Less than 12 hours after my return, and no more than five minutes before publishing a fresh article which you've no doubt been waiting for, there has been a change and we've managed to sign former Ajax captain Siem de Jong.

The 25-year-old has signed a six-year contract with the club for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £6m-£7.5m - a reduction on the £15 million Ajax were looking for last summer, presumably as the Dutch club fear losing him for nothing when his contract expires in the summer.

Born in Switzerland to Dutch parents, de Jong has represented Holland at every level and currently has six full international caps with two goals to his name. During is time at Ajax he racked up 244 appearances in all competitions over seven seasons, scoring 78 goals operating mainly as an attacking midfielder with occasional stints as a striker when required. Here is a video of him in action.

The lad has shown class in the Dutch league but only time will tell if he can replicate that in what is a much tougher league. Maybe I'm just being overly cautious after the failed loan spell his brother Luuk had with us last season? I don't know. I'd be ecstatic if it worked out though.

This is now our third summer signing following the arrivals of Jack Colback and Ayoze Perez earlier on the summer, but more still needs to be done if we are to have a squad anywhere near ready for the new season which is now approximately seven weeks away.

Maybe this is just the start of that process?