August 3 2011

Andrew Davies

Crystal Palace have landed defensive pair Andrew Davies and Ryan McGivern on loan for a month.

Centre half Davies joins from Stoke after completing a successful trial with the Eagles. It has been reported the deal can be extended further if required.

The 26-year-old began his career as a trainee at Middlesbrough and had loan stints with QPR and Derby, joining Southampton for £1m in 2007.

Despite suffering a fractured cheekbone, Davies was named Saints' Player of the Year following just 25 appearances.

The former England U21 international moved to Stoke shortly after their promotion to the Premier League but struggled to hold down a first team role.

He went out on loan to Preston, Sheffield United, Walsall and Middlesbrough for first team action.

McGivern, 21, can operate at left-back and centre half and has 12 international caps for Northern Ireland.

He was sent out on loan to Morcambe, then Leicester where he made his debut in a 2–0 win over Palace on October 20 2009 and then the first half of last season on loan with Walsall.

Palace manager Dougie Freedman told the official site: "Both bring experience to an area of the team where we need cover going into an important opening set of games and I see them as important additions to the players we already have available."