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Daum delight at Petit deal

Image: Petit: Ready for challenge

Christoph Daum says Cologne beat off competition from the Premier League to sign Armando Petit.

Portuguese midfielder ready for new challenge

Cologne coach Christoph Daum says the club beat off competition from the Premier League to sign Armando Petit. Experienced Portuguese midfielder Petit has joined Cologne on a free transfer after negotiating his release from Benfica. He has agreed a two-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months, and Daum admits there was plenty of interest in the 31-year-old. "We wanted such a player to show Cologne's intentions to go forward and he will do a good job for us," Daum told a press conference. "There was also interest shown in him from the Premier League, the French first division and the Russian market."

Grateful

Petit has spent his entire professional career in Portugal and he concedes he was keen to experience a different style of football. He said: "I always wanted to play in a different league and to try a new league out. "Benfica have given me so much and I am grateful, but I believe in the project in Cologne. This is the contract of my life."

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