Aston Villa have completed the signing of Republic of Ireland youngster Enda Stevens from Shamrock Rovers.
The two clubs had negotiated the transfer last month, but had to wait until the January window opened to finalise the deal, even though the player has already been able to train with his new team-mates.
The full-back has now signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the West Midlands outfit, and could be in line to make his debut against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
Manager Alex McLeish revealed his excitement last week to have the youngster in the squad, and called on him to adapt to life in the Premier League quickly if he is to displace the likes of Stephen Warnock in the Villa first team.
“Enda will have quite a way to go to break in because Stephen Warnock has been in great form,” McLeish told the Express & Star.
“He’s a young player but we’re hoping when he joins he will get to grips with everything and adapt very quickly to put pressure on guys like Stephen.
“It will be nice to have another body in the squad and he’s a player who has got some potential.
“If you look at the squad, who do you leave out? I’ve got Ciaran Clark who can play there and he is playing well at the moment as well.
“If someone is out for whatever reason then there might be some opportunities, but it is up to Enda to hit the ground running in training and do well so I think ‘Let’s get this guy involved’.”