Out-of-contract Chester FC defender Ben Heneghan has completed his switch to Scottish club Motherwell.

Reports on Thursday morning indicated the Scottish Premiership outfit had moved into pole position for the England C international, who spent two seasons at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium.

The centre-back's move north of the border has now been confirmed with the 22-year-old signing a two-year deal.

Heneghan was one of three new faces to be unveiled at Fir Park on Thursday lunchtime along with former Grimsby Town defender Richard City and ex-Leicester City forward Jacob Blyth.

Motherwell boss Mark McGhee said: "We are delighted to have secured all three lads as in all each situation, we had to battled hard against clubs on both sides of the border.

"All three have been identified via our scouting network, headed up by Martin Foyle, and we’ve really done our homework on them all.

Mark McGhee, manager of Motherwell
Mark McGhee, manager of Motherwell

"Ben will come in and battle it out with Kieran Kennedy, Louis Laing and Stephen McManus for a centre back position and Richard is an experienced and talented right back who had a really strong season at Grimsby.

"Jacob gives us something we’ve not really got in attack, which is a big, powerful, strong centre forward who will run in behind.

"I am really looking forward to working with them all when we start on Monday. We’ve got other areas of the park we’re looking to strengthen, and will continue trying to nail our top targets."

Chester had been resigned to losing Heneghan amid strong interest from the Football League and would normally be entitled to compensation given he is aged under 24.

MK Dons, Sheffield United and Shrewsbury Town were rumoured to be keen on the Salford-born defender but the move to Motherwell appears to have scuppered those hopes.

Fifa rules state players can move freely from one association to another if they have not been offered a new contract at least 60 days before the expiry of his current deal.

Ben Heneghan in action for Chester against Lincoln towards the end of last season
Ben Heneghan in action for Chester against Lincoln towards the end of last season

Heneghan was offered a new contract at Chester but there less than 60 days remaining on his existing deal when that happened.

The Chronicle understands there have been discussions between the two clubs and the Blues could still decided to seek training compensation, particularly given Heneghan's rise over the past two seasons.

Heneghan made 92 appearances for Chester in all competitions, scoring seven goals. He signed after impressing on trial in August 2014 following his release from Stoke City.