Southampton have begun preparations for life back in the Premier League by breaking their transfer record to sign Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez.

The 22-year-old has long been linked with a move to the south coast and Saints reportedly failed with bids last summer and in January.

However, Nigel Adkins now has his man as Rodriguez has signed a four-year deal at St Mary’s after leaving the Clarets for an undisclosed fee.

Press Association Sport understands the deal to be worth STG6 million ($A9.48 million), which breaks Southampton’s longstanding transfer record, set when they signed Derby’s Rory Delap for STG4 million in 2001.

Rodriguez told the club’s official website www.saintsfc.co.uk he’s excited about the move.

“This is a great club, a massive club, and they’re where they belong. It’s a squad I want to be a part of, and it’s really exciting.

“As an outsider, you look at the club from where it started, and the drive they have to move up the leagues in quick succession is amazing.

“The sky is the limit. You see how good the players are at the club.

“They want to push on even higher, and carry on the way they’re going.”

Rodriguez, who was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year last season, formally agreed the move during a holiday in Mexico and signed the deal on Sunday, much to the delight of Adkins.

“Jay is an exciting young English prospect, so I am really happy he is our first signing of the summer,” the Southampton manager said.

“He is an exciting forward thinking player who has already scored a lot of goals at a young age over the past couple of years.

“He has demonstrated a superb attitude and when we have met him it has only confirmed what our research has told us.

“He has a hungry and enthusiastic attitude with a desire to work hard in the positive environment that we have at Southampton where will be able to develop his talent.”