Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has confirmed Will Alves will be joining Cardiff City on loan until the end of the season.

WalesOnline reported earlier on this week that the Bluebirds were closing in on a deal for the winger, with the 19-year-old keen to kick on and get more game-time under his belt.

The teenager can be deployed anywhere across the front three and worked with Cardiff manager Omer Riza during their time in the England set-up together. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

READ MORE: Cardiff City winger targeted for loan move by Newport County

READ MORE: Omer Riza issues apology to Cardiff City fans as players froze in 'unacceptable' Leeds United defeat

This would be Alves' first loan away from the Premier League club and his boss in the east Midlands has now confirmed he'll be joining Riza's outfit.

“It’s very good for Will that he goes to play minutes in the Championship for Cardiff,” van Nistelrooy told BBC Radio Leicester. “We’ll keep an eye on him over the coming months to get him back to Leicester over the summer.”

Alves has a number of attributes that Cardiff are crying out for.

Last month, van Nistelrooy said of Alves: "He’s been doing really well in training. That’s why he’s there. He’s pushing for a place in the squad.

“What he has is speed, good feet, he can create something, powerful. It’s what we need on the wings, players who can take on one-v-ones, get balls into the opponent’s box and get past people to create chances for us. Will is capable of that. Of course, he’s very young and needs to keep working like he’s doing now.”

Meanwhile, West Brom have beaten Cardiff to the signing of Will Lankshear. The Bluebirds and Baggies were in a two-horse race to sign the Tottenham striker on loan and he has now been unveiled at The Hawthorns.

WHATSAPP: Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community

Elsewhere, Roko Simic scored on his first outing for Cardiff City Under-21s yesterday in their 3-2 win over Everton. Simic, who returned to the club after a frustrating spell with KVK in Belgium, will feel like a new signing in south Wales and he made an immediate impact in the match against the Toffees, which also saw Aaron Ramsey return to the fold.

"I managed to watch a bit, it was nice to see Aaron get 45 minutes," Riza said. "It's nice to see him training and on the pitch, it is positive.

"Now we need to get him to a place where he can compete at a high level."

Riza says he hopes get "one or two" in before tomorrow night's deadline. "I think we're not far off now, and I'm happy with the squad and the players that we've got," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"If we get one or two more, great. If we don't, we're ready for the second part of the season."