Newcastle United have completed the signing of England midfielder Nicky Butt from Manchester United. Butt, 29, has signed a four-year contract with the Magpies for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.5m.

"Nicky Butt has officially completed his transfer from Manchester United this morning," a Newcastle spokesman said. "The player has signed a four-year contract and has been given squad number four for the 2004-05 season."

The move ends Butt's long association with Manchester United, where he started as a trainee in 1991. He went on to pick up six English league titles, two FA Cups and the European Cup in 1999.

However, Butt had slipped down the midfield pecking order at Old Trafford and the last of his 387 appearances for United came as a late substitute in the 3-0 FA Cup final win over Millwall in May. Capped 35 times for England, Butt has also been increasingly sidelined in Sven-Goran Eriksson's side, though his hopes of playing at Euro 2004 were eventually scuppered by injury.

A defensive midfielder, Butt nevertheless scored 26 times for United. He could make his Newcastle debut against Rangers in the Newcastle-Gateshead Cup pre-season tournament at St James' Park this Saturday, alongside fellow new signing Patrick Kluivert.