Petrov re-united with O'Neill at Aston Villa

Aston Villa's new manager Martin O'Neill has made his first signing by bringing in Bulgaria midfielder Stilian Petrov from Celtic on a four-year contract, the Premier League club said yesterday.

The 27-year-old Bulgaria captain played for O'Neill when the two men had a successful spell at Celtic, with Petrov helping them towards the Scottish domestic treble in 2001 before breaking his leg in the closing stages of the season.

Details of the deal were not disclosed but media reports put the fee at £8 million.

O'Neill said: "I've known him for quite some time and I think he is athletic, young and can also score some goals for us.

"I think his best years are ahead of him, at 27 years old. He's the right age but he's also got plenty of experience behind him.

"He's got that winning mentality from his years at Celtic but I think he had that anyway."

Capped 50 times by Bulgaria, Petrov had a transfer request turned down at the end of last season and said earlier this week he was still keen to leave the Scottish champions.

O'Neill joined Villa earlier this month after more than a year out of football and is already lifting the Midlands club out of the doldrums.

They are third in the table after three games, having finished 16th last term under David O'Leary.