West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the signing of Town's top scorer Simon Cox in a £1.9 million deal.

The widely-expected move for Town's 32-goal top scorer was rubber-stamped in a statement on the Baggies' website.

Cox, 22, has joined the Midlands side on a two-year contract, plus a further two years' option after passing his medical at the Hawthorns.

Town will receive a guaranteed £1.5million straight up, with a further £400,000 due in performance-related add-ons.

That will equal - and could surpass - Town's record transfer fee received from Manchester City for Kevin Horlock in 1997.

Cox's move ends a long pursuit of the striker by Albion, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season. Championship side Leicester were also interested before pulling out of the race last month.

Former Baggies' chief Tony Mowbray and his staff watched the frontman on four occasions last season before it was announced last week that Town had accepted an offer in the region of £2million.

Mowbray subsequently moved on to Celtic, but new chief Roberto Di Matteo gave the green light for the move to go ahead, with Cox becoming his first signing.

Town bought Cox from Reading for around £200,000 in January 2008, with Royals expected to receive up to 40 per cent of the Albion fee, as part of a sell-on clause.