CARDIFF CITY HAVE announced the signing of Republic of Ireland international James Collins from fellow Championship club Luton Town.

Collins rejected a new contract at Luton to sign a two-year deal with the Welsh outfit.

The move will see him reunited with Mick McCarthy, who handed the striker the first four of his eight senior Ireland caps.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” Collins said. “To be here today to sign for this great club is a real honour and I can’t wait to get going.

“I’m an honest player and I’ll always work hard for the team. I like to link up play and I like to think my main attribute is scoring goals. That’s what I love doing and hopefully I can score lots of them here.”

Collins spent four seasons at Luton, where his goals played a vital role in bringing the club from League Two to the Championship with back-to-back promotions.

The 30-year-old found the net 72 times in 183 outings for the Hatters. With 13 goals in all competitions, he was Luton’s leading scorer again in the 2020-21 campaign.

“It’s a really good signing for us,” said Cardiff boss McCarthy. “He’s been on an upward trajectory all his career, going from the lower leagues to the Championship and he’s kept scoring goals.

“I like when they’ve come up the hard way, coming through the school of hard knocks to keep progressing and getting to a higher standard. He’s ended up an international footballer through all of that and that’s due to his hard work, diligence and ability to score goals.

“He’s got a great scoring record. He’s durable, he’s tough and he’ll be one of us. I’m delighted to have him.”