Fulham win the race to sign £3m Baird

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A fee had been agreed with Black Cats manager Roy Keane but Baird opted to link up with Lawrie Sanchez, who coached him at international level, and he has signed a four-year deal at Craven Cottage.

Sanchez said: "I'm delighted that Chris has chosen to join Fulham despite interest shown by other clubs."

The 25-year-old becomes Sanchez's fourth signing since taking over towards the end of the last campaign following the arrivals of Aaron Hughes, Steven Davis and Diomansy Kamara.

Baird, Hughes and Davis all played in the famous Northern Ireland win over England in 2005 and David Healy, who scored the winner in Belfast, has also been linked with Fulham.

"I am well aware of Chris' attributes as a player from my time with Northern Ireland and his qualities and versatility will be a major asset for the club next season," added Sanchez.

After withdrawing his bid for David Nugent - who has signed for Portsmouth - and missing out on Baird, Sunderland boss Keane continues his search for players to add to his squad.

Baird was earmarked after consistent performances at Southampton since George Burley took over just a few months after the full-back played in the win over England in Belfast.

Burley said: "It is disappointing to see him go because he has done very well since I came here.

"He had not played many games under previous managers but in the 18 months I have been here, he played virtually every game for me."

Burley added on saintsfc.co.uk: "He is a great pro and has developed into a top-class player and shown great quality."

Baird is determined to help Fulham avoid a repeat of the relegation battle they faced in the last campaign.

"We don't want to be in the same position we were in last season - we want to be secure in the Premier League and hopefully we can finish much higher up next year," he said.

"I'm sure with the players we've got we can do that."

He added: "It's been a long, hard wait but thankfully it's all done and dusted now and I'm a Fulham player.

"To play in the Premiership was one of the major reasons for me coming here.

"There are good quality players here and I'm just looking forward to the season. It's not the easiest start against Arsenal but I don't see why we can't get a result if we do things right in pre-season."