Motherwell have announced the signing of Sligo Rovers defender Shane Blaney.
The 23-year-old will officially join the Fir Park side when the January transfer window opens.
Blaney has penned a two-and-a-half-year deal as he becomes Steven Hammell's first signing of the winter window.
The defender is a familiar face to Motherwell fans having scored a stunning opener for Sligo in the Europa Conference League qualifiers earlier this season.
On the signing, Hammell commented: “Shane is someone who we have watched closely since that European tie where I felt he played very well in both legs.
“He has had an impressive season with Sligo and we think he can continue that upward trajectory with us at Fir Park.
"He will give us additional competition in defensive areas and will push the likes of Lamie, Solholm and Mugabi for a start.”
On his transfer move, Blaney added: “This is a really exciting move for me.
“I’ve loved my time at Sligo and want to continue to improve and add to my game here at Motherwell.
“There is a lot of really talented players in this squad already and I can’t wait to get going.”
Meanwhile, Motherwell are waiting to hear back from burton Albion about Louis Moult's ankle injury.
“Louis is unfortunately not with us just now," Hammell said last week. "He has a niggling problem that we got a small procedure with, which he got a decent reaction to and managed to get some game time in before the break.
“Right now he is back down at Burton waiting on a consultation there and finding out what the verdict is.
“Once we hear back from them, we will make a decision on it in terms of where he is at and and when he can get back in to us. It’s been frustrating and disappointing the way it has been stop-start.
“He is not our player, he is on loan here, and we need to wait to hear back about the extent of the damage.
“We knew after the St Johnstone game it would be unlikely he would be available for this game.”
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