Leicester City have today beaten off a host of high-profile European clubs to the signature of Bulgarian international central defender Aleksandar Tunchev from CSKA Sofia for an undisclosed fee.

Tunchev, who last season captained CSKA to the A Grupa title, has signed a three-year contract with the Foxes.

The 26-year-old played a major part in Bulgaria's EURO 2008 qualification campaign, and has amassed a total of 15 caps for his country since making his international debut in 2006.

Tunchev, who stands at 6'2", becomes manager Nigel Pearson's fourth capture of the summer - following Michael Morrison, Lloyd Dyer and Nicky Adams through the doors at the Walkers Stadium.

Pearson said: "This is a major transfer coup for us and we are delighted to welcome Alex to the club.

"He is a strong and experienced and will be an excellent addition to our squad."

Chief Executive Lee Hoos added: "We have had to work very hard on this deal. There was a lot of interest in Alex from clubs across Europe, but he has kept to his word and it is fantastic to have him here.

"To be in a position where we are still able to attract this calibre of player is a testament to the size of this football club."

And Chairman Milan Mandaric also expressed his delight with the capture.

He said: "Alex has totally bought into our vision for the future. Of course, our immediate aim is to gain promotion back to the Championship, but he can see beyond that. That's the sort of mentality that we want around this place.

"This deal is the product of a lot of hard work and I am sure Alex will become a real favourite with our fantastic supporters."

The player enjoyed spells at Hebar Pazardzhik, Belasitsa Petric and Lokomotiv Plovdiv before joining CSKA in 2005.

The deal is subject to the player obtaining a work permit.