LUIS BOA MORTE today linked up with his new Saints teammates after completing his move from Arsenal. But he will find it a lot harder to join his international colleagues this weekend.

His passport was stolen during a break-in at his London home as he put the finishing touches to his transfer to The Dell from Arsene Wenger's Gunners.

The 22-year-old winger, who also lost his wallet, is due to fly out to Portugal on Sunday to link up with the Under-21 side for European Championship qualifiers next week in Azerbaijan and Romania.

That meant an emergency dash to London straight after training today to try and get replacement documents.

But Boa Morte was cheered by the completion of the deal and the prospect of a debut at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. And he revealed the lure of first-team football was a key factor in his decision to leave Highbury.

He said: "When Arsenal signed a lot of players this summer including some good strikers, I knew it was going to be more difficult for me to get in the team.

"I know I will get more chances to play here. It is not a big club like Arsenal but I will try to help make it the best."

Boa Morte added that he was swayed too by the advice of his younger brother Bruno Leal who is already on the books at The Dell.

He added: "I spoke to him as soon as I knew about Southampton's interest and he said a lot of good things about the club. He is happy here and I think I can be too.

"I did not come here to be with him. He has his life and I have mine. But it will be nice to have him here."

The deal - exclusively forecast in last night's Echo - could eventually cost Saints £1.8 million but it has been cannily structured to ensure they pay less than half of that this sea-son and the total outlay is based entirely on first-team appearances.

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