City have today swooped to sign Paul Gallagher on loan until the end of the season.

The 23 year old attacking midfielder returns to the Potters for a second time after enjoying a hugely successful loan period with the club in the 2005/06 season.

The Scottish international went on to score an impressive 11 goals in 37 games, during his first spell at the Britannia Stadium.

Paul spent the first half of this season on loan at Championship rivals Preston North End, for whom he made 19 starts.

The skilful playmaker also has top flight experience behind him, after making 56 appearances for Rovers in the Premier League.

Chief Executive Tony Scholes spoke to stokecityfc.com shortly after the deal was concluded and revealed he was absolutely delighted to bring him back to the club.

"I'm sure this will be a very popular signing because Paul made a very big impact last time he was with us," Scholes said.

"He scored us a lot of goals and I'm sure he will re-establish himself as a firm fan favourite here again.

"This is our first signing of the day, and we are working tirelessly to try and tie up another signature before the closure of the window."

Manager Tony Pulis added: "He is an absolutely fantastic signing, he has good quality and is very different to what we already have.

"We know him from last time he was here and we know he can score goals."