By Aston Villa FC

Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Kerr Smith, subject to international clearance.

The 17-year-old defender joins Villa’s Academy from Dundee United, having been with the Scottish Premiership club since the age of seven.

Smith made his first-team debut for the Terrors last February and has made 12 appearances, also representing Scotland’s Under-19s in November.

Academy manager Mark Harrison said: “We are delighted that Kerr has joined us, he is a player we have tracked and monitored for a long time.

“He has lots of potential but has already gained some fantastic experiences at first-team level with Dundee United, which is rare for a 17-year-old.

“We are really excited to see how he develops and hopefully one day we will see him become a regular in our first team.

“I would also like to thank Dundee United for the way they handled our approach and conducted themselves in the negotiations.”