MK Dons have announced the signing of striker Scott Hogan, who has joined after being out-of-contract.

The 32-year-old former Brentford and Aston Villa player and Republic of Ireland international joins after being without a club following his release by Birmingham City at the end of last season.

Hogan has joined MK Dons on a contract of undisclosed length and is the club’s first signing following the arrival of Scott Lindsey as their new manager late last month.

In his career, Hogan achieved his breakthrough into the EFL with Rochdale in 2013, re-joining the then-League Two side three years after previously leaving and with spells in non-league.

After a single season at Rochdale, he joined Brentford at the start of the 2014/15 season and despite struggling with injuries in his first two seasons with the Bees, a run of 14 goals in 25 Championship appearances saw him impress.

He moved from West London to the West Midlands when he joined Aston Villa in January 2017, spending three and a half years with the Villains and having loan spells with Sheffield United, Stoke City and Birmingham City along the way.

After his loan at Birmingham, Hogan directly moved from Villa Park to St Andrew’s, where he scored 36 times in 158 appearances over four and a half years with the Blues.

Hogan’s arrival at Stadium MK was not confirmed in time for him to feature for MK Dons’ game against Tranmere Rovers later today, meaning his first possible option to make a debut would be next Tuesday against the Arsenal junior team in the EFL Trophy.

In his arrival interview with the MK Dons website, Hogan voiced his delight to return to professional football.

He said, “It’s really exciting to be part of something, I’ve been out of contract so it’s been a difficult time, and it had to be something that really got me excited to play football! What I was told by Scott Lindsey and Liam Sweeting, about the owners and their ambition, this is going to be a really good place to be and a great project to be a part of.”

His new boss Lindsey added, “Scott’s a brilliant signing. I’m really excited about this one. We had a good conversation, he’s 32-years-old but plays like he’s 22-years-old! We spoke in detail in terms of formations, how the game model looks from our point of view and how he fits into that. He’s very fit, he looks sharp, he’s alert in the box and he will score goals.”