SAINT ETIENNE, France (AFP) - Greek international defender Efstathios Tavlaridis on Monday signed a three-year deal with Saint Etienne from French first division rivals Lille.

The 27-year-old has spent the past three seasons at Lille, playing more than 90 league matches in addition to eleven Champions League games.

Tavlaridis started his career at Greek side Iraklis in 1996 before joining Arsenal in 2001. He played very little for the English Premiership club.