Town have completed the signing of Preston North End attacking midfielder Josh Harrop on loan until the end of the season.
Harrop, who will wear the number 33 shirt, trained with his new team-mates this morning then completed the remaining paperwork relating to his switch.
TWTD revealed on Monday morning that Harrop was set to travel to Portman Road to finalise his switch, however, the move has been delayed following a thorough medical as the Blues scrutinised any issues relating to the cruciate knee ligament damage the former Manchester United trainee suffered in October 2018, and also due to the additional red tape created by the League One salary cap.
The deal has been confirmed subject to salary cap ratification by the EFL with the Blues close to the £2.5 million limit.
At 25, Harrop counts as a senior player in terms of the cap, which was introduced last summer, unlike 21-year-old Luke Thomas who signed on loan from Barnsley yesterday, with the club limited to a squad of 22 players aged over 21.
Harrop, who prefers to play as a number 10 but also operates wide on the left, joined Preston in June 2017 having come through the youth system at Old Trafford, where he made one Premier League start in a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace on the final day of 2016/17 and scored the opening goal.
Born in Stockport, Harrop, who was the player assistant boss Stuart Taylor said the Blues were hoping to sign prior to the Swindon match, has made 39 starts and 55 sub appearances for Preston, scoring 13 times including a number of free-kicks.
However, this season 5ft 9in tall Harrop has made only four starts, one in the Championship, and four appearances from the bench, scoring once. He was left out of the 20-man squad which lost 2-0 at Bristol City at the weekend.
Capped three times by England’s U20s, Harrop signed a new contract at Deepdale in August which runs to 2023.