QPR sign Nelsen and Johnson on free transfers
Reuters - Monday 18 June 2012, 15:29
Premier League side QPR
announced the signings of New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen and
former England striker Andrew Johnson on free transfers on
Monday.
Both players have worked previously with manager Mark
Hughes. Nelsen, 34, was signed by the Welshman at Blackburn
Rovers in 2005 while 31-year-old Johnson played for him at
Fulham.
Nelsen, who captained the All Whites at the 2010 World Cup
finals in South Africa and will lead the Olympic team in London
at the Games starting next month, arrives from Tottenham Hotspur
on an initial one-year deal.
"I have obviously got a lot of history with the manager and
that was a massive draw for me," he told the club website.
"I have got the Olympics coming up and that will be a good
way for me to get prepared."
Johnson, who scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 rout of QPR at
Craven Cottage in the league last October, was capped eight
times by England between 2005 and 2007.
The move from Fulham, on a two-year deal, also reunites him
with former strike partner Bobby Zamora.
"Mark was brilliant when I was at Fulham. I'd just come off
the back of a rough spell with a knee injury and he guided and
helped me through that period," he said.
QPR, run by Malaysian aviation entrepreneur Tony Fernandes,
are rebuilding after narrowly escaping relegation last season.