(Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed central defender Emmanuel Agbadou from Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims on a four-and-a-half-year contract, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
British media reported the deal is worth around 16.6 million pounds ($20.39 million). There is an additional 12-month option.
The 27-year-old Ivory Coast international, who captained Reims, is new manager Vitor Pereira's first signing at Wolves, who have the poorest defence in the top flight.
Wolves are in 17th place and level on 16 points with Ipswich Town, who are in the final relegation spot.
"We're delighted to welcome Emmanuel to the club," Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said in a statement.
"He's a player our recruitment team have watched for a long time and Vitor agreed that he was the right player and the right character to strengthen our squad now."
Wolves visit second-tier Bristol City in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
($1 = 0.8142 pounds)
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
