Exeter City made their third signing on deadline day with the arrival of experienced central defender Angus MacDonald on a short-term permanent contract.

The 32-year-old defender has joined the Grecians until the end of the 2024/25 season following his departure from Scottish outfit Aberdeen.

Known to the club through assistant manager Kevin Nicholson’s time at Torquay United, MacDonald was named Nicholson’s captain during his player-manager stint. He leaves Aberdeen with 50 appearances under his belt, including eight in the Europa League where he captained the side to a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

READ MORE: Exeter City sign Brighton defender Ed Turns on permanent deal

READ MORE: Exeter City sign forward Andrew Oluwabori from Halifax Town

Before the Dons, MacDonald featured notably for Swindon Town, Rotherham United, Hull City and Barnsley following his spell at Torquay, having been on several loan spells from parent club Reading, from whom he came through the academy.

Manager Gary Caldwell said: “Angus we know through Nicho and we felt that we need an experienced figure in defence at the moment to get us organised, to stop us conceding far too many goals.

“Experience is a vital part of any defence and he will be a massive part of what we do from now until the end of the season. The short term nature of it allows him to see us, us to see him, and then in the summer we can see what happens from there.”

Earlier in the evening, Exeter City announced the signing of Ed Turns on a two-and-a-half year contract from Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.

The 22-year-old centre-back, who has captained the Seagulls under-21 side, makes the move from the south-coast having had Football League experience with Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandra.

The Grecians also signed forward Andrew Oluwabori from Halifax Town on a two-and-a-half year deal. The 23-year-old has been brought in to replace Millenic Alli who left the Grecians for Luton Town earlier in the transfer window.

Oluwabori, who can play anywhere across the front three, has scored six goals in 27 appearances in the National League this season. This included two in his final two starts for Halifax against Gateshead and Solihull Moors.

These followed the arrivals of Alex Hartridge, Joel Colwill and Ryan Trevitt on loan moves earlier in January.