Conor Hourihane joins Swansea on loan from Aston Villa

Republic of Ireland international Conor Hourihane has joined Championship side Swansea City on loan for the remainder of the season.

The Aston Villa midfielder has made 150 appearances for his club since moving from Barnsley in 2017. The Irish playmaker has earned 24 caps for his country to date, scoring one goal against Georgia in the European Qualifiers in 2019.

The Cork native is looking forward to a new challenge at the Liberty Stadium.

“I am delighted to be here. It is great to get it done early in the window, I am really excited and I want to get stuck into it,” Hourihane told the club's website.

“The gaffer has been great with me when we have spoken, he made it clear he wanted me here and I have heard so many good things about the style of play and what it’s like to live in the city. It just ticked all the boxes and it made the decision quite easy.

“I am desperate to play, I could have sat around at Villa for the rest of the season, but I want to play. I hope I can bring some experience as I have had a couple of promotions in my career."

The 29-year-old believes his technical ability will benefit his new side for the remainder of the Championship season.

“But I want to add quality too, in terms of goals and assists my numbers have been pretty good in seasons where I have played, so I hope I can bring that here.

“The lads have put themselves in a great position, it’s going to be a fantastic run-in and I hope I can help them along over the second half of the season and achieve what we all want to achieve.

“I am excited by the challenge, and I want to come down here and achieve.

“I wanted to get out there and have another challenge, I want to be part of something. I want to cement the side high up the table and try and provide a bit extra over the rest of the season.”