NEW Saints recruit Armel Bella-Kotchap is looking forward to getting started on the south coast, revealing that he thinks he “will have a lot of fun here.”

Saints continued their strong start to the summer window with a third capture in the span of a week, as the Hampshire club parted with a rumoured £9.5 million to sign the 20-year-old centre-back.

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Born in Paris to a Cameroonian father, Bella-Kotchap moved to Germany at an early age, going on to represent the Germans at various youth levels.

Already exposed to numerous cultures thanks to his family background, Bella-Kotchap stated that he was backing himself to adapt to both England and the Premier League.

In an interview with Saints website, the defender shared: “It’s a new country and a new culture.

“It’s not easy, but I will do my best to adapt quick. That’s why I’m here.

It’s different. It’s the first time that I saw the city. It’s quite a nice city. I think I will have a lot of fun here, and meet the people.

“I’m very happy to be here.

“I think it is important to adapt to the people, meet the guys, have a warm welcome, and when you’re there from the first day, it’s easier for you as a player to see the surroundings and so on, and it will help me.”

The VfL Bochum academy graduate shared his existing knowledge of his new club, sharing that the St Mary’s faithful were “amazing fans”.

He mentioned: “I hope that the fans will be behind me in bad or good situations.

“For me, it is important to have a good relationship between the fans, between my teammates, between my coaches.

“We’ll give everything for that and hopefully it will be a good one.

“I know when the (club) was founded, it was the year 1885.

“They have amazing fans, especially in England.

“When you play in front of your fans, they can bring you important points during the season, and that helps a lot.

“And that’s why I think the fans are also traditional.”

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