Malta champions Birkirkara yesterday beat the transfer deadline to complete the signing of Ryan Harding, a 26-year-old defender from Scotland.

Harding completes the Stripes’ four-man foreign line-up for the 2010-11 season as he joins fellow defender Nikola Vukanac (Serbia), Argentine striker Emiliano Lattes and goalkeeper Ezequiel Lovizon, of Brazil.

The towering Harding (1.88m) agreed to sign for one year for Birkirkara yesterday after leaving a good impression during his trial period that also included playing for the team in the pre-season Carlsberg Tournament at Corradino last month.

He played mostly for Scottish clubs in his career and figured for Hibernian and Livingston before a transfer to Greenock Morton where he spent four years and made 124 appearances for ‘The Ton’.

Last season, Harding played for East Stirling in the Scottish Division Three.

This summer Birkirkara strengthened their squad with the arrival of newcomers Andrew Decesare (Tarxien Rainbows), Terence Vella (Gudja United) and goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo (Msida St Joseph).

Last week, Birkirkara agreed to release veteran midfielder George Mallia. He joined Premier League rivals Qormi.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.