Birmingham City has completed the signing of striker Christian Benitez from Santos Laguna for a club record fee. The Ecuador international signed a three-year deal at St Andrews ahead of next season's test in the Premier League. Although the club has yet to reveal the fee, it is set to surpass the $10m paid for Emile Heskey in 2004.
Benitez – son of the Ecuador's all-time leading goal scorer, Ermen – starred in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and has scored 31 goals in 58 games in Mexico's Primera Division over the last two campaigns. He recently underwent surgery on a shoulder injury, which makes him improbable for Ecuador's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru (June 7) and Argentina (June 10).