Walsall sign Stoke City midfielder on loan

The 19-year-old made his debut for the Potters against Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup and has been a regular for their under-21s in the Premier League 2. 

Lipsiuc, who is a Republic of Ireland under-21 international, arrived at the Bet365 Stadium from League of Ireland outfit St Patrick's Athletic in January last year. 

He made two senior appearances in his native Ireland and has also played alongside Walsall defender David Okagbue at international level. 

"It's been a long time coming with talks throughout the whole window so I'm buzzing and ready to go," Lipsiuc said. 

"It's my time to get football experience in the league now and there is no better place to start than Walsall. 

"The team are flying at the moment so hopefully I can help as much I can and get as many minutes as possible." 

Walsall have developed a strong working relationship with Championship side Stoke during Mat Sadler's reign. 

Douglas James-Taylor and David Okagbue have both signed permanently after fruitful loans, while Tommy Simkin and Nathan Lowe have enjoyed great success on loan this term, with the latter scoring 18 goals before his recall earlier this month. 

Lipsiuc becomes Walsall's second deadline day signing following the arrival of fellow midfielder Alfie Chang on loan from Birmingham City, and the club's sixth in total in the January window so far. 

Boss Sadler added: "I'm happy we've been able to bring Darius in. Darius is an all action, powerful midfield player. 

"He wants to run, wants to work hard. Thanks to the guys and our relationship at Stoke in allowing us to get this one over the line. 

"We actually had Darius in for a few days a couple of weeks ago so I got to see him first hand. 

"He's got a very good attitude and he's another one, alongside Alfie, who fits the mould of the type of player that we want."