ATHLETIC have made another foray into the transfer market by securing the signing of former Partick Thistle loanee Reece Cole.

The 23-year-old, a product of newly promoted English Premier League side Brentford's academy, has signed a one-year contract, with the option of a second.

The central midfielder joins Nikolay Todorov, Deniz Mehmet, Fraser Currie, Dan Pybus and Ross Graham in signing for Peter Grant, and could be in line for a debut against Stenhousemuir this Saturday in the Premier Sports Cup.

Londorn-born Cole has been on trial with the Pars and arrives having most recently been part of Queens Park Rangers' under-23 side.

Starting out with Brentford's under-15s, he made his senior debut for the Bees in 2017 - a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest - but that proved to be his only appearance for the club.

In 2017/18, he went on loan to League Two Newport County, playing five times and scoring his first senior goal, in a 1-0 win at Coventry City, before his time there was cut short by a knee injury.

Short spells at Yeovil Town and Maidenhead followed before Cole moved to Macclesfield Town in January 2019, where he made 18 first team appearances.

In September 2019, he joined Partick on loan and, after starting his time there with two away fixtures, his first match as a Jags player at Firhill saw Dunfermline run out 3-0 winners.

He scored four goals for Thistle - including a fine strike at East End on St Andrew's Day in 2019, which was mere consolation in a 5-1 hammering that saw Kevin Nisbet score four - in 25 appearances before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.

Cole's final game for Partick came in their last of the campaign before football was stopped, and was also against the Pars, in a game that ended 1-1.