St Mirren have signed former Birmingham and Middlesbrough midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce on a short-term deal which could be extended.

The 23-year-old has agreed a deal until the end of the season and St Mirren have an option of signing him on a longer contract.

The former Northern Ireland Under-21 international was a free agent after leaving Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough in January.

Boyd-Munce has 13 first-team appearances to his name with Birmingham and Boro after moving to the West Midlands from Glentoran at the age of 16.

He told St Mirren’s website: “I had quite a few offers but none of them felt 100 per cent. As soon as I had my first day in here I called my mum and dad and told them I thought this was the one.

“I came in to train for a few days and when I got here I was put at ease because it was a cracking dressing room. The boys made me feel so welcome and the levels and intensity at training were brilliant.

“The manager knows how to get the best out of players and I’m really looking forward to working with him. He didn’t really need to make much of a sell. Because I know him and he knows me, he just told me how it is and what he needs from me and that was it.

“I wanted to come somewhere that I’m going to get the ball and there are players that want the ball. I want to play forward and control the game.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson worked with his new signing during his time with the Northern Ireland youth set-up.

Robinson said: “Caolan is a young international that I worked with previously as a young boy. He’s technically very good.

“He’s playing catch-up fitness wise, but he has a great attitude and is someone that we feel if we can develop, there may be something longer term for him.

“We’re trying to fill the gap that we’ve had since Ethan (Erhahon) left. He’s a similar type player to Ethan, who I think we have missed.

“He can certainly be in the squad going forward and play 10-15 minutes in matches. But with the intensity we play at, it might take him a bit of time to get up to speed.

“This deal is more a view to what we can do next season. We are trying to be proactive and have a look at positions we want but also being able to utilise him if needed this season.”