Newcastle United complete Anita transfer

The Hague, Aug 16 (IANS) Newcastle United confirmed the signing of Dutch football midfielder Vurnon Anita from Ajax Amsterdam Thursday.

Ajax and the English Premier League club agreed on a transfer fee of 8.5 million euros. The 23-year-old midfielder signed a five-year contract at Newcastle. He will become the second Dutchman to play at Newcastle after goalkeeper Tim Krul, reports Xinhua.

Anita joined the Ajax youth academy in 1999 and made his first team debut in March 2006. He played a total of 109 Eredivisie matches in which he scored five times. In the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 season the three-times Dutch international captured back-to-back league titles with Ajax.

"He is an exceptionally talented footballer with great technical ability, which is exactly what I am looking at in a player," said Newcastle manager Alan Pardew.

"At 23 years of age, I hope his best years are at Newcastle."