Nottingham Forest sign Simon Cox from West Brom on three-year deal

Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of striker Simon Cox from Premier League side West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old, who joined the Baggies for £1.5m from Swindon Town in 2009, has signed a three-year deal with the Championship club.

"I am sure he will prove to be an excellent addition to our squad," said Forest chairman Omar Al-Hasawi.

Cox becomes the seventh addition to the Forest squad this summer.

Despite beginning his career at Reading, it was with Swindon that the Republic of Ireland forward made his name, scoring 42 goals in 80 appearances after a successful loan spell.

That form prompted a switch to The Hawthorns, where he netted 18 times in 79 games, and also made his international debut.

"I'm delighted to have signed a deal with Forest and I'm really looking forward to the task ahead," the striker told the club website.

"The history of the club sells itself and I had a chat with [manager] Sean O'Driscoll and liked what he had to say.

"I also met the chairman the other day and had a good look around the facilities and can tell it's a club going forward.

"One of the most important things for me were the assurances I was given by the owners. I've seen enough in football where owners come into the clubs, have a little flutter and then go away.

"I wanted to make sure that they are going to be here for the long haul and they assured me that they are. They have big plans for the club and I want to be a part of that."

Baggies sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth said: "He has a fantastic attitude which I think is best summed up by the fact he did not miss a single game through illness or injury.

"Coxy scored plenty of vital goals during our promotion-winning season in 2009-10.

"He also made a major contribution to the club retaining our Premier League status during the second half of the following season, including his memorable goal at Tottenham, which helped him break into the Republic of Ireland team.

"With Shane [Long] arriving last summer, Peter [Odemwingie] continuing to score and Marc [Antoine-Fortune] also doing well, it became tougher for Cox to get game time last season and we've now brought in Markus [Rosenberg] and Romelu [Lukaku].

"We've had lots of interest in Simon this summer and this is a good move for him and his career. He joins Nottingham Forest with our best wishes."