St Johnstone and Aston Villa confirm Kerr Smith loan, with ex-Dundee United man set to be ‘mainly a centre-back’ with Saints

St Johnstone and Aston Villa have officially confirmed Kerr Smith’s Perth loan deal through to the end of the season.

The 19-year-old defender, who started his career with Dundee United, extended his contract with the Premier League high-fliers before heading to McDiarmid Park.

Saints have also snapped up Benjamin Kimpioka from AIK in Sweden on an 18-month deal and are still waiting for international clearance to be completed.

Both were unlikely to feature against Dundee had the game gone ahead.

Kerr Smith joins Saints on loan from @AVFCOfficial for the remainder of the season subject to international clearance 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The 19-year-old Scottish defender will join up with Craig Levein's squad immediately.

Welcome to McDiarmid Park, Kerr! 💙#SJFC

— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) January 2, 2024

Smith can play across the back-line.

Assistant manager, Andy Kirk, said: “He’s coming in as a centre-back mainly but he has a lot of qualities that allow him to play in different positions.

“Over the course of time working with him, hopefully we’ll get him into a position that suits his strengths and suits the team.”