Leicester City this morning made a double swoop for Clive Clarke and Marton Fulop from Sunderland.

Irish international left-back Clarke (27) joins on a three-month loan deal while 24-year-old Hungarian international goalkeeper Fulop will remain at the Walkers Stadium until the end of the current season.

Both players will go straight into the squad for Saturday's Championship clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Clarke joined Stoke City as a trainee in August 1996, making his debut against Oldham in May 1999.

He went on to make a total of 262 appearances in all competitions for the Potters in nines years at the club, helping them to the League One Play-Off semi-final in May 2001 and promotion to the Championship in May the following year.

Clarke then signed for West Ham for a fee of £275,000 in July 2005 but only made two appearances before joining Sunderland in August 2006.

He played four games then moved to Coventry City on loan in October 2006 until January 2007 where he played 12 matches.

Clarke was a Republic of Ireland Under-21 international and currently has two caps for his country.

And Foxes manager Martin Allen is delighted to have acquired his services.

He said: "Clive has undertaken and passed with flying colours and much enthusiasm a stringent fitness assessment which is standard for all players who join this football club.

"He has experience, a great appetite and hunger to play and has come here for three months to prove he is good enough.

"At other clubs he has been picked as their captain and I believe he will be a good acquisition for us."
Clarke will wear the number 26 shirt.

Fulop, meanwhile, will provide further competition in the goalkeeping department.

The 24-year-old shotstopper initially joined the Black Cats on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in November 2006 and made his debut on December 9, 2006 in the 2-1 victory over Luton.

His deal was made permanent in January 2007 with Ben Alnwick moving in the opposite direction.

Fulop signed for Spurs in the summer of 2004 from MTK Hungaria for an undisclosed fee before being loaned out to Chesterfield between March and May 2005, making seven appearances for the Spireites and keeping two clean sheets.

The Hungarian spent the majority of the 2005-06 campaign on loan at Coventry, where he made 33 appearances.

Fulop represented his country at under-21 level and then made his full debut as a half-time substitute in a friendly against France in May 2005, keeping a clean sheet for the second period.

The keeper played five games for Sunderland in the 2006-07 season, including their 5-0 triumph at Luton on the final day - a result that secured the Championship title for the Black Cats.

Allen added: "I am delighted that Marton Fulop has agreed to join us on loan for the season.

"He has great presence, a great attitude to work and to improve and is a goalkeeper I've tried on many occasions in the past to get on loan.

"I believe this is a significant signing for Leicester City. Marton travelled down to Leicester late on Tuesday night, met physio Dave Rennie yesterday morning for a medical, had a further fitness assessment and he is in tip-top condition and ready to rumble."