YORK City have recruited Hull City under-21s captain Matty Dixon as a swift replacement for Ben Godfrey.

Dixon signed for the Minstermen on an 18-month deal as Godfrey’s six-figure move to Premier League Norwich, exclusively revealed by The Press, was confirmed by the Bootham Crescent outfit.

Like Godfrey, the 21-year-old midfielder will provide competition and cover for senior trio Luke Summerfield, Russell Penn and James Berrett.

Dixon has come through the ranks at the KC Stadium and was youth-team skipper before donning the development team’s armband.

He was loaned out to Gainsborough Trinity last season and made his professional debut as an extra-time substitute during Hull’s Capital One Cup penalty-shoot out victory over Accrington in August.

On making his third permanent signing - the first two were Danny Galbriath and Kenny McEvoy - since becoming City chief in November, Jackie McNamara said: “He’s someone we had in for a week to have a look at but we’d seen him before. He was in and around their first team during pre-season and has been very closely involved there, so he’s a fantastic signing.

“The fact that he’s our player rather than a loan signing is also a big plus for us and I think we’re lucky to have him. We’ve got a lot of young players now and I would love them to be our own to work with and develop.

“We can do that with Matty and he will move forward with us and be part of the future here.”

On Dixon’s strengths, McNamara added: “He’s very good at keeping the ball and has good vision. He can sit in the midfield and is very similar to Luke Summerfield in that respect.

“We saw how much Luke and Russell Penn were missed when they weren’t in the team and, with Ben going, it was a position we needed to strengthen.”