London - Hull City confirmed on Thursday that they have signed former Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink on a two-year contract.

The Dutch 30-year-old was a free agent after leaving the Glasgow club at the end of last season, and is thus able to move outside of the transfer window.

"I'm delighted we have beaten off all the competition to bring him to the KC Stadium," said Hull chairman Paul Duffen.

"We've definitely wanted an experienced, top-drawer striker who scores goals and Jan has scored prolifically in top leagues in Europe.

"It's what we need. We didn't score enough goals last season. Going forward we have a lot of new talent and Jan will play his part in using his experience to settle them down.

"We've been looking at Jan since July and are really pleased we've turned his head.

"He's been looking at other big clubs in Europe but the Premier League is here he wants to come and play with us." (dpa)