MADRID, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Espanyol's Chinese striker Wu Lei will have to get by without a 'panda' by his side this season after Real Betis on Wednesday made official the signing of striker Borja Iglesias from Espanyol.

Iglesias, nicknamed 'The Panda' scored 17 goals for Espanyol last season and build an impressive partnership with Wu Lei, but after two months of rumors Betis have finally signed the striker for a price of 28 million euros (around 31 million US dollars).

Iglesias has signed a contract until the end of June 2024 and will be reunited at Betis with Joan Francesc 'Rubi' who led Espanyol to an impressive seventh place in last season's Liga Santander.

"It's been a long process, but now I am happy to be here. They say you have to wait for good things and I am going to do all I can to make sure that's the case," said Iglesias in declarations to the Betis website.

The 26-year-old has progressed rapidly in recent years; 34 goals for Celta Vigo's B-team in the 2016-17 season earned him a move to second tier Zaragoza, where two years ago he scored 22 goals, before his 17 goals with Espanyol last season showed he was just as capable of scoring goals in the top-flight.

Espanyol have signed forward Matias Vargas this summer, but although the Argentinean winger looks very promising, they will almost certainly move to sign another center forward with Torino's Simone Zaza being mentioned as a possible replacement for 'the Panda'.