Tigers boss Phil Brown was a happy man after completing a deal to sign Brazilian midfielder Geovanni.

The 28-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal, and Brown believes the new signing proves just how far the club has come in such a short space of time.

"From our point of view we had to cross the t's and dot the i's," he said.

"What I mean by that is that we wanted to see what his physical condition was like and we wanted to see whether he was ambitious.

"We always knew there was a player in there. The first time I watched Geovanni play was when he was at Barcelona in a game against Liverpool at Anfield.

"I've only just spoken to him about that particular match which also featured the likes of Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo and Luis Enrique.

"And to have someone from that fixture now playing for Hull City is a testament to just how far we've come as a club."

With his signature secured, Brown is now focussing on getting Geovanni ready for the forthcoming campaign. Having arrived at the Tigers' hotel in Italy late last night, the new boy trained with his new team-mates for the first time this morning and Brown was pleased with what he saw.

"It's all about getting on with his physical preparation now and getting him ready the season ahead.

"He hasn't done too much for the last two months which is why he didn't take part in the weights session in training today. But he got on with the football and the rest of the lads enjoyed training and playing with him.

"I think it's a tremendous coup for the football club to have him onboard and I'm certainly looking forward to working with a Brazilian international."

The Tigers boss has already identified a possible role in his side for the new arrival.

"For me he is a ball-player, a bit of a play-maker," he added. "He can play behind the frontline but can also feature on either flank.

"He's predominately right-footed but we saw Nicky Barmby have some of his best games in a Hull City shirt last season coming in off the left wing to link up with our strikers causing numerous problems for opposition defences and I expect Geovanni to be exactly the same sort of player."