YOURI Djorkaeff has completed a deal Wanderers hope will help keep them in the Premiership.

The transfer was given the green light when German club Kaiserslautern agreed to cancel Djorkaeff's contract with immediate effect, allowing him to leave on a free transfer.

His move to the Reebok had been under threat in recent days because of his financial demands and the Bundesliga giants' insistence that they wanted a fee for the 33-year-old attacker.

But Wanderers' chairman Phil Gartside confirmed Djorkaeff was coming to the Reebok "on our terms".

The Bolton chief said the signing of one of the world's most famous players underlined Wanderers' determination to retain their Premiership status and illustrated the strides the club have made in the past year.

Paying tribute to Sam Allardyce for enticing the former Inter Milan ace to the Reebok, he said: "If you'd have suggested 12 months ago that we'd be doing a deal like this, you'd have been told to go and jump off a cliff!

"It's a testimony to Sam that he has been able to persuade Youri Djorkaeff to come to Bolton - as well as other respected players like Bruno N'Gotty and Fredi Bobic."

Wanderers have signed a World Cup winner once before when they bought Roger Hunt - a member of England's 1966 team - from Liverpool for £32,000 in December 1969. But he could do little to revive the club's fortunes and they were relegated into the old Third Division for the first time.

"This is a different situation altogether," Mr Gartside said. "Djorkaeff is still a current international and still a great player.

"In terms of big name signings, he's got to be the biggest by a mile."

And the man who helped make it happen was the agent Jason Ferguson - the son of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "He has worked hard behind the scenes on this deal and deserves recognition," the chairman added.

Djorkaeff, dropped from the French squad for the friendly against Romania in Paris, has made no secret that he is joining Wanderers to save his World Cup place.

Having fallen out of favour with Kaiserslautern coach Andy Brehme, he has been told by the French national coach Roger Lemerre that he needs first-team football if he is to book his ticket to this summer's finals.

But he says he has chosen Wanderers ahead of Aston Villa and West Ham.

"Sam Allardyce came to see me and tell me all about the club and their goals," he explained. "I would rather go to a club fighting relegation than a mid-table team. Every point will count. I will have a lot of responsibilities and that's what I need right now.

"He (Allardyce) told me that the team would play for me and they would more or less give me the keys to the shop. I would play like a No-9-and-a-half alongside a centre-forward.

"West Ham and Aston Villa were also in contact but I had to make a quick decision because time is moving on. Bolton are the most interesting club for me and they were the most interested in me."

Mr Gartside said Djorkaeff's motives were not an issue. "Who cares if he is coming here to try to regain his place in the French squad? That should be to our advantage."

He has been capped 78 times for France and netted 28 goals in a glittering career.

Allardyce told the official Wanderers website - www.bwfc.co.uk - "Signing a player of Youri's calibre and class underlines our determination to stay in the Premiership. He is an outstanding world-class player and a World Cup winner, and perhaps the biggest signing in the club's history."

"From the club's point of view, it shows our great determination through long and protracted negotiations in getting our man."

Djorkaeff added: "I want to score goals and I've never felt as fit. I am really eager to discover this new challenge, help Bolton stay in the Premier League and regain my place in the international set-up for the World Cup."