Oldham Athletic have signed former Swansea, Hull and Stoke City midfielder Sam Clucas until the end of the season.
The 34-year-old, who is a free agent, has been training with Latics for the last couple of weeks and is likely to go straight into the squad to face Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup first round on Saturday.
And manager Micky Mellon described the capture of a player who has commanded transfer fees up to £16.5million in his career as "a real coup".
“Sam has been with us for a few weeks now and you can see the quality he brings, he’s a strong personality who can play a number of positions," said the Latics boss.
“He adds to the squad and he’s the type of player who will give us a different dimension to our play and style with his versatility.
“Sam’s a real coup for the club, he’s a player that can really help us.
“When the quality is available you always want to add to the group, we’ve managed to move a few things around and we’re so happy to bring him in."
Clucas began his football career at Leicester City, where he spent seven years from 2001 before joining Lincoln City.
After trails at Bisham Abbey he was offered a two-year scholarship at the Glenn Hoddle Academy and played for Fourth Tier Spanish Side Jerez Industrial.
He signed for Hereford after returning to the UK, scoring eight goals in 58 appearances.
There was an upward trajectory in his career with spells at Mansfield and Chesterfield before helping Hull City get back to the Premier League.
Clucas was a target for Burnley under Sean Dyche, and came close to a move to Mellon's former club. But after Hull City were relegated back to the Championship after a season in the top flight he instead signed for Swansea City.
The versatile midfielder joined Stoke City a year into the four-year deal he signed in South Wales and had the best spell of his career in five years at the Potters, scoring 18 goals in 131 appearances, before joining Rotherham United in 2023.
After completing his move to Boundary Park today, Clucas said: “I’m delighted to sign and finally get the deal done.
“I’ve been training with the group for a couple of weeks now and it’s a great set of players to come into.
“There’s a mix of experience and youth, and the manager has been fantastic to work with so this is an exciting opportunity.
“It’s obviously a massive club that should be playing higher, so if I can come in and share my experience with the lads then hopefully we can achieve some success.”
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