Town have confirmed the signing of Argentinian midfielder Luciano Civelli on a three-and-a-half year contract. The 22-year-old joins the Blues for a fee believed to be around £1.1 million.
Civelli, who will wear the number 13 shirt, passed his medical yesterday and signed his deal earlier this afternoon.
The 6ft 1½in tall player started his career as a left-back but now operates as a left midfielder. He is said to be a good crosser of the ball and a strong tackler and prior to Town's interest, he was linked with a move to Greek side AEK Athens. Known as Lucho, Civelli is the younger brother of Olympique Marseille sweeper Renato.
The Pehuajó-born plyer, who holds an Italian passport, made 68 appearances for Banfield, scoring eight goals, since making his debut in 2006. Prior to his spell there, he was with hometown side Estudiantes Unidos de Pehuajó.
Town scouts Steve McCall and Simon Hunt spotted Civelli on their recent trip to Argentina looking for January additions to the squad.
According to Argentinian site Banfieldmania, the Blues will own 100% of Civelli's federative rights, his registration, and will take 50% of his economic rights, but with an option to buy the other 50%.
Situations of this type are common in South American football where stakes in players often belong to an outside investor, while the player's registration belongs to his club. The investor makes their money when the player is sold on.
What got West Ham in trouble with the Premier League over the signings of the Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano was not the ownership of their economic rights by a third party, but entering into a contract which enabled that third party to influence its policies. Kia Joorabchian's Media Sports Investments was given the right to terminate the players' contracts which is a contravention of Premier League rule B13.
Town are said to have dealt with Banfield through an intermediary rather than doing so themselves. This will have been Argentinian scout Horacio Lorda, who the Blues have engaged to represent them in their dealings in order to avoid some of the pitfalls involved in signing players from South America. Lorda was previously involved in the 1994 deal which saw Mauricio Taricco join Town from Argentinos Juniors.