Riise returns to England with Fulham

Fulham have realised the signing of Roma defender John Arne Riise for an undisclosed fee.

The previous Liverpool left-back has penned a three-year deal at Fulham and will associate with his brother Bjorn Helge in west London. Riise has spent the past 3 seasons plying his business deal in Serie A with Roma, having departed from Liverpool in 2008.

The 30-year-old clocked up more than 230 appearances for Liverpool after joining them from Monaco in 2001 and the full-back admits it is great to be back in England.

"I am pleased to have realised my transfer to Fulham this morning and am looking ahead to playing in the EPL once again," he said the club's website.

"Fulham is a club that I've been following as my brother, Bjorn, plays here and he talks very highly of the club and the staff. Obviously I besides played against the club in the Europa League group stage when they went on to reach the final of the competition.

"I know that the club is ambitious and continues to make good progress every year, under the guidance of the president, Mohamed Al Fayed. I'm looking forward to working with Martin Jol and the rest of the team when I report to training next week."

The Norway international is recently-appointed manager Martin Jol's second signing of the summer, following the arrival of Hungarian goalkeeper Csaba Somogyi earlier this week.

"John Arne Riise is an experienced international left-back, who will bring a number of calibers to our squad and provide more choices for me," said Jol.

"He's used to playing at the very highest level for both club and country and is an accomplished player defensively, who can also contribute to our attacking play.

"I'm extremely pleased that we have been able to add him to our squad, and trust that he will show a valuable addition as we progress."