French defender Kevin Theophile-Catherine has returned to his homeland on a permanent basis after making his loan switch to Saint-Etienne from Cardiff City into a three-year deal.

The 25-year-old started his career at Rennes before joining Cardiff following their promotion to the Premier League in 2013, but he was loaned out to Saint-Etienne at the start of last season.

Saint-Etienne have paid around two million euros ($2.26m, 1.5m pounds) for Theophile-Catherine, who can play at right-back or in central defence.