Crystal Palace have made their third major summer signing with the acquistion of Alex McCarthy for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £3.5million.

The Eagles have already snapped up Yohan Cabaye for a club record fee, and Patrick Bamford on loan from Chelsea.

The goalkeeper joins on a four-year deal after speculation throughout the summer that he would swap west London for south London.

McCarthy joined Rangers from Reading last summer but found himself frustrated as he sat on the bench and played only four times for the club.

He began his career at Reading, and made 75 appearances for the Royals, including 13 in the Premier League, before then linking up with QPR for an undisclosed fee last August, despite rumoured interest from Liverpool. 

But his spell at QPR has not been a happy one and McCarthy will be given the chance to compete with Julian Speroni for the No 1 shirt between the sticks at Selhurst Park this season.

The move is likely to see Wayne Hennessey depart to West Bromwich Albion to rejoin former manager Tony Pulis, although he has travelled with the squad to South Africa.