Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is delighted with his £6 million capture of Valencia striker Nikola Zigic.

The 29-year-old joined Blues yesterday afternoon on a four-year-deal from Valencia to make him Blues' third summer signing in a matter of weeks.

"I'm very pleased with the signing because Nikola has been in the public eye for the past two or three years and there's been speculation whether he would leave Valencia or not," McLeish told bcfc.com.

"I've seen the player over a number of years and I spoke to some friends in Belgrade who know him very well and know his character.

"He's a well known player in world football and I think he'll do well at Birmingham

"He didn't quite get the same opportunities at Valencia - maybe the style of play was slightly different but I'm sure he'll relish playing at this club and in front of the St. Andrew's crowd."

Zigic's stand out feature is his height. At six feet eight inches tall he is understandably a major threat in the air, but McLeish says there is far more to his talents than just his aerial ability.

"He's certainly is a big lad and I'm sure he could have had a career in basketball as well," he said.

"I hear through the grapevine that he calls Peter Crouch 'wee man', so that tells you how tall he is!

"But despite his height he's a good footballer. He can take the ball in and he brings other people into play. I was speaking to Raddy Antic the coach of the Serbian national team who said he was a fantastic team player and I'm looking forward to having that type of character in the ranks once again.

"We have that in abundance at this club and we look for Nikola to give us that work ethic also."