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Cardiff City have broken their record transfer fee once again today as they signed Tottenham defender Steven Caulker.

The Bluebirds tonight secured the 21-year-old on a four-year deal at Cardiff City Stadium.

The England international represents a huge coup for the Premier League new boys as manager Malky Mackay prepares to make his fourth signing of the summer.

The exact value of the deal is undisclosed at this stage but it will usurp the £7.6m paid for Andreas Cornelius.

Caulker tonight said: “First and foremost I want to say how happy I am to have signed with Cardiff City Football Club. I’m delighted to be here and excited for this fresh challenge.

“I spoke to the Gaffer yesterday, liked what he had to say and am excited about the plans he has for the Football Club. You get the sense of excitement from everybody at the Club in the build-up to the season’s kick-off at West Ham and I’m really looking forward to being part of it.

“I thank Tottenham for everything they’ve done for me, having been there since I was a kid. But I’m here to back myself up now and show what I can do. This is a fresh start, a new chapter and I’m here to kick on.”

Caulker’s Premier League pedigree is already well known in South Wales after his season-long stay with Swansea City two years ago that enhanced his reputation as one of the brightest defensive prospects around.

His performances at the Liberty during Swansea’s maiden year in the Premier earned him a call-up to the Team GB squad for the London Olympics as well as seeing him force his way into first-team plans at White Hart Lane.

Gallery: Steven Caulker factfile

Caulker made 26 appearances during his time at Swansea, going on to win a first senior England cap the following season while back at Spurs.

But he has not figured regularly in North London and Mackay has moved to get his man.

Swansea attempted to secure the return of Caulker last summer, but were unable to make any headway in a deal while Brendan Rodgers was also linked with a move to take him with him to Liverpool.

The former Yeovil and Bristol City loanee played in both of Spurs’ recent friendly games with Sunderland and South China in Hong Kong and the recent injury suffered by Jan Vertonghen appeared to suggest he could be stying at White Hart Lane.

Cardiff have also been linked with a move for Espanyol’s Mexico international centre-back Hector Moreno while are still trying to secure a deal for France midfielder Etienne Capoue.

Gallery: Our updated list of the players Cardiff City have been linked with this summer