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          Palace's Alex McCarthy, Nice's Jeremy Pied sign Southampton deals

          • PA Sport
          Aug 1, 2016, 10:19 PM

          Southampton completed the signing of Crystal Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and Nice full-back Jeremy Pied on Monday.

          McCarthy, 26, signed a three-year deal, while Pied, 27, is on a two-year contract.

          They are the Saints' third and fourth arrivals of the summer after winger Nathan Redmond, from Norwich, and Bayern Munich midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

          "I'm over the moon to join a club like this," McCarthy told the club's YouTube channel.

          "The club is known for producing young players and they've had successful seasons. There's the Europa League to look forward to this season, so there's going to be a lot of games.

          "With the stature of the club, I'm honoured to be here and I'm looking forward to getting working with everyone."

          Pied, who spent last season on loan at Guingamp, joins Southampton on a free transfer after previously playing under new Saints boss Claude Puel at both Lyon and Nice.

          "I am very happy to be able to join this new team. I'm very proud. The English league is a very attractive one and it was a goal of mine to be able to play in it," he said.

          "I'm now very happy to join Southampton. You only have to look at the facilities and their results over the last few seasons to know that this is a very good Premier League club."

          McCarthy made just seven appearances for Palace in his one season after joining from QPR. However, he is relishing the chance to stake his claim at St Mary's.

          "It's a club close to home for me and the way the club's run and the way it's going it's a massive positive," he added.

          "I played with a few of the lads here already so I spoke to a couple of them and they had obviously nothing but good words to say about the place so it was an easy choice for me.

          "It's definitely a club going forward. Coming down here on my first day to the training ground and you see the facilities and everything, it's amazing down here what the club has done, so I'm looking forward to the years ahead with it.''

          Also on Monday, Palace midfielder Jake Gray moved to Luton Town on a free transfer. The 20-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Hatters.