Done deal: Motherwell sign centre-back Liam Donnelly

Motherwell's new signing Liam Donnelly challenges Jason Cummings. Picture: SNS/Bill Murray

The 22-year-old arrives from Hartlepool United on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

A Northern Ireland international, Donnelly spent time on trial at Heart of Midlothian in 2016 and counts Fulham and Crawley Town among his previous clubs.

The centre-back, who made his full international debut as a substitute against Chile, worked previously with Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson.

He told the club’s official website: “As soon as I knew the interest from Motherwell, I was delighted.

“It’s a massive club. How well the club did last season was unbelievable and I want to kick on with the lads this year and hopefully improve on it.

“I’ve worked with the manager with Northern Ireland since I was quite young. So there were a lot of factors in why I’ve decided to come here.

“There’s a good bit of aggression involved in my play. But I like to play and have the ball. I defend properly when I need to defend but I can hopefully play a bit as well.”

The player moved to Fulham, where he was a team-mate of Celtic’s Moussa Dembele, from Dungannon Swifts.

He captained the London side to the final of the 2013/14 FA Youth Cup final, a defeat to Chelsea, before moves to Crawley Town in 2015 then Hartlepool in 2016.

He has 20 caps and four goals for the Northern Ireland U21s.

Robinson told the website: “Liam was a target of ours from when we started our summer recruitment, so we’re delighted to have landed him.

“I’ve worked before with Liam at youth international level with Northern Ireland, so I’ve first hand experience of what we’re getting. He will fit in well here and further strenghten our central defensive options.”