Nicolas Nkoulou becomes Claudio Ranieri’s first signing at Watford

Watford have announced the signing of Cameroon defender Nicolas Nkoulou.

The 31-year-old, who has agreed a deal until the end of the season, has played in two World Cups and helped his country win the African Cup of Nations title in 2017.

Nkoulou becomes the first signing under new Hornets boss Claudio Ranieri, who replaced the sacked Xisco Munoz earlier this week.

Nkoulou began his professional career at Monaco and went on to make over 100 Ligue 1 appearances during a five-year spell at Marseille.

After a season with Lyon, Nkoulou moved to Serie A side Torino, with whom he spent two years before departing as a free agent at the end of last season.