NEWPORT County have swooped to sign a new player, adding Hampton and Richmond’s Jamie Collins to their ranks.

The 25-year old midfielder arrives at Spytty Park for a nominal fee having joined the London outfit only this summer, having previously spent four years as captain of Havant and Waterlooville.

Collins skippered the Hawks in their dramatic FA Cup run of 2007/8, where they reached the fourth round and faced Liverpool at Anfield, leading twice before losing 5-2.

Collins is an extremely versatile player, nominally a central midfielder, who is also a capable left back and central defender.

He is described both by manager Dean Holdsworth and general manager Tim Harris as a long-term target, Holdsworth encountering Collins when he was a trainee at Watford, before being part of the coaching set-up that signed him for Havant and Waterlooville.

He explained: “I’ve been trying to sign Jamie for the best part of six months, I knew him as a young lad at Watford, he’s got tons of ability and enthusiasm.“He’s as good as it gets at this level and that is why he’s often chosen to be a captain.

“His versatility is a plus for us, he can play in two or three positions and I think our supporters will be really impressed with his ability.

“He’s a winner in my mind and a player I expect to settle into the squad straight away.”

County have successfully landed Collins after three previous attempts to clinch his signature failed to materialise, meaning he goes straight into the squad for tomorrow’s visit of Basingstoke, having trained with his new team-mates at Caldicot last night.

Despite living in Hertfordshire, Collins will be expected for training twice a week, meaning he will join fellow commuters such as Charlie Henry (a former Havant teammate) and assistant manager Fraser Skimming.

“I am not worried about the distance Jamie has to travel, he will do it with the others who come up from that way and he’ll be expected at training twice a week as they are,” said Holdsworth.

“We want to be the best we can be and it’s up to me to manage the players who live a distance away from Newport, but I don’t see it as a problem at all.”

General manager Tim Harris happily confirmed that Collins has been a long-term target for the Exiles.

“Pretty much since I arrived at the club he’s been a player we’ve been chasing, Dean rates him exceptionally highly and I do too,” he said.

Collins will go straight into contention for Saturday’s visit of Basingstoke with the Exiles looking to bounce back from their first league defeat in 20 games at Staines on Tuesday.

On loan forward Kerry Morgan suffered a heavy-challenge in that one and was being monitored in training last night, the Exiles sweating on a few other bumps and bruises.Nathan Davies and Dave Gilroy definitely won’t feature as they continue loan spells at Leamington and Weston respectively, while Takumi Ake is still some way from a return with cruciate ligament damage. However, groin victim Gary Warren is fit.