Birmingham City have finalised a deal for Charlton Athletic defender Michael Morrison, the Blues have confirmed.

The central defender had initially extended his loan spell from the Addicks to ensure his ineligibility for Blues FA Cup 3rd round clash with Blyth Spartans.

The 26-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal at the club, after a successful loan spell with Gary Rowett's side. He is the only player to start all of Gary Rowett's first eleven games in charge, which emphasises his importance to the new regime at St. Andrews.

Morrison was previously the vice captain at the Valley, but fell out-of-favour with new Charlton manager Bob Peeters. He made 150 appearances for the South London side before signing for the Carling Cup winners of 2011.

Speaking to Birmingham City's official club website, Rowett said: "Morrison sees the size of the club and sees that his opportunities are possibly limited back at Charlton. What’s quite refreshing is that he’s a player that really wants to play football and that’s of paramount importance to him.

"It’s been great to get him on board. We’re really happy about it and we think he’s a really good signing. He’s the right age, the right character and it’s the right time of his career and really good for us.

"I’ve been delighted with his performances so far and like I’ve said previously he’s kept two very good centre-halves out of the team. It was an obvious one for us to try and extend further."

Turning the clocks back to this time last season under Lee Clark, Blues were tarnished with defensive injuries and loan departures.

The likes of Kyle Bartley and Dan Burn, who were both in the heart of the Blues defence, were called back by Swansea and Fulham respectively.

Rowett will be keen to ensure there is defensive stability at St. Andrews to avoid a repeat of last season's shortcomings.