HULL have completed the signing of midfielder Jimmy Bullard for a club record £5m fee from Fulham.

The 30-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at the KC Stadium after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Bullard is likely to be officially unveiled today and paraded to supporters before the FA Cup fourth-round clash against Millwall at the KC Stadium.

The Tigers made their move for Bullard after Bolton pulled out of a potential deal last week and are thought to have beaten off a number of clubs for his signature.

The deal smashes the previous club record fees of £2.5m paid for defenders Anthony Gardner last summer and Kamil Zayatte earlier yesterday.

Bullard has agreed a fourand- a-half-year contract worth £45,000 per week, raising Hull’s total outlay on the 30-year-old to a staggering £15.53m.

Manager Phil Brown said: ‘‘It is a sign of how serious Paul Duffen is, how serious Phil Brown is and how serious Hull City is with regards to this Premier League campaign.

‘‘The only way to sell Hull City’s plight to Jimmy Bullard is to show him the ambition of the club, the ambition of the manager and the chairman and play the type of football he likes to play.

‘‘He has been impressed with the way we have approached the Premier League this year and he heard what he wanted to hear.’’ Some Fulham fans have expressed dismay that Bullard has left, despite missing the best part of two entire seasons as he recovered from his knee injury.

But Roy Hodgson insisted he had discharged his duties to the club and had no complaints with his attitude after contract talks ground to a halt.

‘‘I don’t think Jimmy owed us anything. He played 39 games for me,’’ he said.

‘‘He’s always given me his best and has been a contributory factor to our success.

‘‘He represented us in the best possible way. Jimmy’s attitude during recent weeks has been fine. But we were not prepared to pay the level of salary he was asking for.’’ Hodgson is confident he will be allowed to use the transfer window to invest in Bullard’s replacement.