BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today expressed his delight after landing Aussie international Brett Emerton.

Souness's two-year chase for the Feyenoord ace reached a successful conclusion last night when Rovers officially unveiled him as their first major signing of the summer.

And the Rovers chief is already predicting his new recruit will become a major star in England after pinching him from under the noses of a clutch of his Premiership rivals.

"We've done this deal very quickly and I'm pleased with the outcome. At today's prices, Brett is a great signing for us," said a thrilled Souness, speaking exclusively to the Evening Telegraph from his holiday base in Spain.

"Brett attracted interest from loads of different clubs right up to the moment we started talking terms with him and his agent.

"His agent's phone rang non-stop throughout the negotiations with various people wanting to take him elsewhere so we feel as though we've done very well to get him to come here.

"He's a very talented player who will play a huge part in my plans for this club.

"He's very experienced at international level, he's played in the Champions League and he's a great age as well, so everything about this deal is right."

Souness first tried to sign Emerton two years ago but Rovers had an offer in excess of £3 million rejected by Feyenoord.

Since then, a host of top clubs in England have been linked with the player and the Dutch club rejected an £8 million bid just 12 months ago.

Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Leeds have all been monitoring the situation closely.

But it was Rovers who finally pulled off a deal after agreeing a fee in the region of £2.5 million with his Dutch employers.

Emerton has signed a four year deal and he was granted a work permit at a special hearing yesterday.

He will link up with his new team-mates for pre-season training in the next few days.