Lyon have signed Ghana defender John Mensah from Rennes, the French champions have announced.
The Ligue 1 and Coupe de France winners have moved quickly to replace Sebastien Squillaci, who left for Sevilla last week, signing the 25-year-old on a five-year deal.
However, club advisor Bernard Lacombe insisted that the arrival of the defender in an 8.4million euro deal was not a knee-jerk reaction.
"I had spotted him in the African Nations Cup in Egypt in 2006 where he was a very, very good performer," Lacombe told the Lyon website, www.olweb.fr.
"He is a defender with characteristics which closely resemble those of (Lyon defender) Cris."
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas added: "The objective was to sign the best defender, along with Cris, in the French championship. That's what we've done."
Mensah has played for two seasons in France with Rennes, helping Guy Lacombe's side to an impressive sixth place in Ligue 1 last season.
