SAINTS have completed the £7m signing of Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez.

The 22-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year-deal at St Mary's.

The fee smashes Saints' previous record transfer, when they paid £4m to Derby for midfielder Rory Delap in 2001.

Southampton's bid for the player was accepted last month, but they had to wait for him to return from a holiday in Mexico before completing the deal.

Rodriguez landed back in England on Thursday and traveled south for talks, before passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

The highly-rated forward came through the ranks at Turf Moor and, in the last two years, had blossomed into one of the Championship's most sought-after strikers.

During the most recent campaign, he scored 21 times for the Clarets, while he netted 15 goals in the previous season.

The signing ends Saints manager Nigel Adkins' year-long pursuit of the player.

The club tried to prise Rodriguez away from Burnley last summer, but their approaches were resisted by the Turf Moor board.

However, the situation changed during this off-season, with the front man about to enter the final year of his contract.

That led Burnley to agree to cash in on the player.

Rodriguez told Saints' official website: "As an outsider, you look at the club from where it started, and the drive they have to move up the leagues in quick succession is amazing.

"The sky is the limit. You see how good the players are at the club. They want to push on even higher, and carry on the way they're going."