Albion have completed the signing of experienced defender Erik Pieters on a one-year contract.
The 34-year-old, who represented the Netherlands on 18 occasions earlier in his career, has enjoyed club spells at Utrecht, PSV Eindhoven, Stoke City, Amiens and most recently Burnley, who he left at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Pieters has played in the Champions League and the Premier League and boss Steve Bruce believes his experience will be crucial both on and off the pitch this season.
He said: “Erik has trained with us for six weeks or so and has proven a high level of fitness and clearly remains a very good footballer.
“He has been a top-flight player for a long time and we’re confident he will be a good addition who can offer us further depth in more than one defensive position.
“The fact he is up to speed and has put in so much hard work behind the scenes over the past few weeks will benefit all involved, and he is ready to play as soon as we need him.”
Pieters added: “It means to a lot to have signed here. Everyone knows I have been a free agent for a little while, so I have been working really hard at home to keep myself in shape.
“I now want to prove myself and show what I still have in me. It’s down to me to prove that I’m worthy of being signed here and that I still have what it takes to play at this level of football. I’m confident I can do that.
“I’ve really enjoyed being here. From the first day I walked in the lads have been great with me and I’ve had a really good relationship with the manager. I feel really at home here.
“I still love the game. When my body is telling me that it can’t handle it anymore then that’s when I’ll have to think about what the future holds, but I still feel great. I’m ready to go.”
