FORMER Swindon Town goalkeeper Steven Benda has completed a permanent move from Swansea City to Fulham for a reported £1million fee.

According to Wales Online, Swansea accepted the seven-figure bid from Fulham and the 24-year-old German went on to agree a deal until the summer of 2026, with the Premier League club holding an option to extend by a further year.

“It’s a massive club with a lot of history and tradition, so I’m really happy to be here,” Benda told FFCtv.

“Just look at this stadium, and the club itself, playing for (manager) Marco Silva, it was a very easy decision.”

Benda was Swansea's first-choice goalkeeper last season but sustained a "significant" knee injury in late January and is not expected to return to action for another few months.

And after making it clear to the Jacks' management that he would not be signing a new contract - having previously signed fresh terms in 2019 and 2021 - Benda's manager, Michael Duff, explained that the goalkeeper moving on was the best option for all parties.

Following their 3-2 League Cup defeat by Bournemouth on Tuesday, Duff said: "Steven made it clear he wasn't going to sign a new contract.

"We probably wouldn't have seen him until January so are we in a position to turn down the money for a goalkeeper that would have only been available for three or four months?

"We think we've got a good goalkeeper in Carl [Rushworth] anyway."

Benda joined Swansea from 1860 Munich in August 2017 before going on loan to Swindon in the summer of 2019.

The 24-year-old was extremely impressive between the posts for Town - keeping nine clean sheets during 27 outings - as Eoin Doyle fired the Robins to the League Two title on points per game.

Having returned to south Wales once the Covid pandemic curtailed the end of the 19-20 season, Benda featured just eight times for Swansea - in part due to an ankle injury - over the next 18 months before joining Peterborough United on a short-term loan.

He made 23 appearances for the Welsh club last season, with a ruptured cruciate ligament cutting short his campaign.

Fulham’s director of football operations, Tony Khan, said: “He is a talented young goalkeeper, and while he’s currently recovering from injury, we’ve monitored him for some time and believe that he will be a valuable addition to Marco’s squad upon his return.”