Wolves sign goalkeeper Dorus De Vries from Swansea
- Published
De Vries was regarded as one of the keepers outside the Premier League
Wolverhampton Wanderers have completed the signing of Swansea City goalkeeper Dorus de Vries on a free transfer.
The 30-year-old Dutchman, whose Swans contract expires on 1 July, has signed a three-year deal at Molineux.
De Vries played a key role in but rejected a new offer to stay at the south Wales club.
"I'm really pleased and positive about the move," De Vries told the Wolves official website.
"As soon as I got the call from them I had a really good vibe about it and a positive feeling.
"You come into this club and can see it is Premier League and it is going to be a great battle for me which I think will help me progress.
"Wolves are a club with all the fundamentals in place to grow and expectations are higher than at Swansea at this moment in time."
De Vries will be competing with Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme for the goalkeeper's jersey at Wanderers. He is the midlands club's second signing in as many days following midfielder .
Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers was desperate to keep hold of the goalkeeper, who has been an almost ever-present for Swansea since joining from Dunfermline on a free transfer in 2007.
And De Vries admitted it had been a difficult decision to leave the Liberty Stadium.
"I had a great time at Swansea and a great relationship with all the guys there who I have worked with for the last four years," he added.
"We were a very tight knit-unit who linked up really well together so it was a really tough decision for me.
"But sometimes as a professional player you have to get out of your comfort zone a little bit to be able to find your true potential."
As well as his shot-stopping ability, former Netherlands Under-21 international De Vries is comfortable with the ball at his feet and renowned for his distribution skills.
He set a new record for Swansea in the 2009/10 season by keeping 25 clean-sheets and was awarded the Football League's Championship Golden Glove accolade.
De Vries began his career at Stormvogels Telstar before moving to Den Haag in 2003 and then on to Dunfermline.
Swansea have already started to look for a replacement, and have been linked with a move for Grzegorz Sandomierski from Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystokas.