THE SADDLERS have today completed the formalities of the signing of Stephen Hughes.

The 31 year-old skippered Jimmy Mullen's side to a 2-1 success at Port Vale on Saturday where his range of passing and time on the ball impressed greatly.

Learning his trade at Arsenal where he came through the Academy ranks before going on to make almost 80 senior outings for The Gunners.

During his time at Highbury he was loaned out to Fulham before Everton paid a fee of £3million to secure his services in March 2000.

Upon leaving Goodison Park he joined Watford and then Charlton Athletic until Coventry City snapped him up in readiness for the 2004/05 campaign.

He became a key figure in The Sky Blues' midfield and soon took over the captain's armband on his way to over 150 appearances.

Having enjoyed another solid season in The Championship last term, Coventry were keen to keep him, however he decided that his future lay elsewhere and will become an important member of The Saddlers' squad. "As soon as I found out that Stephen was available as a free agent, I was after him," said manager, Jimmy Mullen. "He is a player in the prime of his career, who has played at the highest level and is captain material.

"He will bring plenty of quality and know-how to the team. We have a lot of young players here and they can only learn from him.

"We have worked hard to beat off competition from other clubs to get him here and I thought that he fitted seamlessly into the team at Vale Park on Saturday.

"He is a player that I am looking forward to working with."