• Ledley available for free after his Cardiff contract ended
• Bullard loan deal scuppered by his financial demands on Hull

Celtic have confirmed the signing of Joe Ledley on a four-year deal from Cardiff City, but their proposed loan move for Hull City’s Jimmy Bullard appears to be dead after he failed to reach a financial agreement with his employers.

Ledley’s contract at Cardiff had expired after the end of last season, and he had been linked with a number of Premier League clubs including West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. Ledley is Neil Lennon’s third signing of the summer following the arrival of the full-backs Charlie Mulgrew and Cha Du-ri.

“Celtic is a massive club. I’m looking forward to the season and working with Neil and his coaching staff,” he told Celtic’s online Channel 67. “I want to come here and win trophies. This is a great club and I’m looking forward to playing in front of a Celtic’s great fans every week. This is the right time to leave Cardiff and look at my career. Hopefully we can win the league and cups and it gives me the opportunity to play in Europe too.”

Cardiff would have expected upwards of £2m compensation if Ledley had signed for another team in the English leagues but Fifa’s cross-border transfer rules mean he is able to move to Celtic for free. It is believed Celtic delayed confirmation of his signing until after the World Cup final to ensure Cardiff were unable to claim so-called training compensation, which is due if a player aged under 24 leaves a club during the season.

“We really are delighted to welcome Joe to Celtic,” said Celtic’s manager Neil Lennon. “Clearly, there were a number of clubs very interested in signing him so we are very pleased he has chosen to come to Celtic, somewhere I think he can be a tremendous success.”

Celtic’s chief executive, Peter Lawwell, added: “We are pleased to have beaten off competition from a number of English Premier League clubs for his signature and we are sure he will be a great addition to our squad.”

Lennon had hoped to make Bullard his fourth acquisition and the midfielder, who has two years left on his lucrative contract at Hull, has made several visits to Celtic’s Lennoxtown training complex.

“The deal is off as far as we are concerned – because of absolutely ridiculous financial demands being made by the player,” Hull’s head of football operations, Adam Pearson, told the Daily Mail. “We have bent over backwards to try to make this happen and four weeks ago there was an agreement with Celtic in place over a one-year loan.

“But now it seems Jimmy wants extra cash on top as well and he has jeopardised the chance to play for a great club. He has had four weeks to make up his mind and has strung people along, frankly.”

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• Brazilian’s contract terminated with 12 months still to run
• Hull forced to clear out high earners following relegation

Geovanni has left Hull after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. The Brazilian, who scored Hull’s first ever goal in the Premier League, still had a year remaining on his deal.

The 30-year-old joined the north-east club on a free transfer from Manchester City in the summer of 2008 and made a total of 65 appearances, scoring 13 goals.

Hull have been forced to release their high-wage earners at the KC Stadium following their relegation from the top flight last season.

Geovanni is a reported target for Greek clubs AEK Athens and Panathinaikos.

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• Former Leicester manager signs three-year deal
• Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh join Hull as coaches

Hull City have confirmed the appointment of Nigel Pearson as their new manager.

Pearson, 46, who steered Leicester City to the play-offs in the Championship last season, has signed a three-year contract at the KC Stadium and will start work as Iain Dowie’s successor immediately.

Dowie took the job on a temporary basis in place of Phil Brown, who was placed on gardening leave midway through last season and was subsequently dismissed following the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

Hull’s head of football operations, Adam Pearson, said: “We are delighted to welcome a manager of Nigel’s experience and calibre to the club. We feel it’s a real coup for Hull City and that Nigel is the best man to mould the existing squad into a competitive Championship team.

“Nigel had two outstanding seasons at Leicester City and I feel sure this experience and winning formula will ensure the very best chance of bringing success back to the club.”

The Tigers have also appointed Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh as coaches. The pair were Pearson’s assistant and first-team coach respectively at Leicester, who bounced straight back to the Championship in 2009 as League One champions under their leadership.

The Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric said in a statement: “We were greatly surprised to receive the initial approach from Hull.

“The past few years have been a turbulent time for both me and the supporters at Leicester City. We have been striving to get a degree of continuity at the club. However, Nigel has done a fantastic job for us and it would have been wrong of us to deny him the opportunity to speak to another club if he wished.

“After speaking to him, we have reluctantly agreed that if he wished to pursue this opportunity at Hull, we would permit it. I am deeply grateful to Nigel for everything he has done for the club. He has put together the foundations of a strong squad and it is now up to us to find a manager to build on those foundations.”

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