Tottenham Hotspur have announced that they signed St. Etienne midfielder Didier Zokora on an undisclosed deal on Friday. "We are delighted to announce the completion of the signing of midfielder Didier Zokora Degui from St Etienne," Tottenham said through a statement posted on the club's official website. The 25-year-old Ivory Coast international, who featured in his national team's tough Group C games in the World Cup that also featured Argentina and Holland, will join his new team-mates on July 21st. Spurs boss Martin Jol has expressed his happiness in signing the former ASEC Abidjan midfielder and insisted that the club had to compete with other major clubs to win his services over. "Didier was regarded by a lot of people as one of the best midfield players going into the World Cup and he proved that in the group stage," Jol said. "A lot of clubs were after him, we had to compete for his services and he is a very good signing," he added. On the other hand, Zokora, who played for four years with Belgian club RC Genk before going on to make 66 appearances for St. Etienne, said that he didn't think twice when he was offered a place at White Hart Lane. "I am very proud to come here and I think it is a great club. I am extremely happy because I think there are a lot of really good players here and I am glad to be joining them." "The core of the team is very young and we can build for the long term. This is something which really attracted me to the club," Zokora said.
