Motherwell sign goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe on loan from Brentford

Motherwell have signed their second goalkeeper of the January transfer window after Ellery Balcombe joined on loan from Brentford until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Well’s William Hill Premiership rivals St Mirren, where he made 26 appearances before being recalled by his parent club earlier this month.

However, Balcombe has now been allowed to move back to Scotland to join Motherwell, who lost first-choice keeper Aston Oxborough to injury just as second choice Krisztian Hegyi was recalled by West Ham a fortnight ago.

“I’m delighted to make the move to Motherwell,” Balcombe told the club website.

“One thing I noticed when playing for St Mirren was the competitiveness of the league and the atmosphere at most stadiums. This is a great opportunity for me to come back and do it again.”

Balcombe will compete with Scotland Under-21 goalkeeper Archie Mair, who joined on loan from Norwich this month and started in defeats away to Hibernian and St Johnstone.

Manager Stuart Kettlewell, who had 16-year-old Jack McConnell on the bench for the Scottish Cup match at McDiarmid Park, is delighted with his latest recruit.

“We’ve not had our issues to seek with regards to injuries within the goalkeeping department,” he said. “Ellery has played plenty of football this season in this league, so he won’t need a settling-in period.

“Having watched Ellery on numerous occasions for St Mirren, you instantly recognise that he is a commanding presence in the box and a leader in the back-line.”