Liverpool FC have confirmed that Ukrainian international Andriy Voronin will join them in the summer when his contract at Bayer 04 Leverkusen expires.

'It is time'
Liverpool had been in negotiations with Voronin for some time and finally confirmed that they had agreed a four-year contract with the forward in a brief statement on their website. The 27-year-old is the Premiership team's first signing since the arrival of new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. "I have been in Germany for more than eleven years," Voronin said. "It is time for a new challenge in a different country."

Bundesliga career
Born in Odessa and initially arriving in Germany to play for VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, the 41-times capped Ukrainian transferred to 1. FSV Mainz 05 in 2000. He then spent the 2003/04 season with 1. FC Köln before switching to Leverkusen in the summer of 2004. He has scored 28 goals in 82 Bundesliga games for the club. Liverpool are 2-1 up from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against FC Barcelona. The second leg will be played at Anfield on 6 March.