St Johnstone have signed midfielder Jacob Butterfield on a contract until the end of the season.

The 31-year-old has been a free agent since leaving Australian side Melbourne Victory earlier this year.

Saints manager Callum Davidson has moved to bolster his squad at a time when they are struggling for form and have been dealing with a spate of injuries to key players.

Butterfield came through the youth ranks at Manchester United before joining Barnsley in 2007.

Prior to heading to Australia a year ago, he played for numerous English clubs, most notably Derby, where he spent four years between 2015 and 2019.

Davidson said last week he was eager to add reinforcements and would only recruit players he felt were equipped to go straight into his team and improve it.

St Johnstone – who slipped to the foot of the cinch Premiership after losing at home to Aberdeen at the weekend – travel to leaders Rangers on Wednesday.