Albion have confirmed the capture of Aston Villa midfield prospect Gary Gardner on loan until January 1.

The 22-year-old is available for tonight's Capital One Cup tie at Swindon after completing a medical at the Seagulls' hotel base in Wiltshire last night and signing the paperwork this morning.

Boss Sami Hyypia said: "Gary is a quality midfielder who we have been aware of for some time. When we knew he was available, we wanted to bring him here as he will give us another quality option in the middle of the park.

"There are areas of the squad where we would like more options and midfield was one of those areas. We have Dale Stephens out injured but more importantly, given the considerable demands of the Championship, I want to be able to rotate the squad.

"Gary has had a tough couple of seasons due to injury but he showed during a spell with Sheffield Wednesday last season that he is over those problems. We hope this loan spell will benefit Gary, us and Aston Villa.

"He is the type of midfielder who is active and mobile but very importantly he has real quality on the ball - and is also capable of producing things from set pieces."

Gardner graduated through the ranks at Villa Park where he caught the eye in the club's under 18s and reserves, captaining the side at both levels.

In November 2011 he joined Coventry City on loan and scored on his Championship debut for the Sky Blues at the Amex in a 2-1 win for Albion.

After four appearances for the Sky Blues he was recalled to Villa Park, promoted to the first team squad and awarded his Premier League debut against Chelsea on New Year's Eve 2011.

Gardner went on to make 16 appearances for Villa in the second half of the season before a cruciate knee ligament injury halted his progress and restricted him to just two appearances in the 2012-13 campaign.

He returned to action on loan to Sheffield Wednesday at the end of last season.

Birmingham-born Gardner, younger brother of Sunderland's Craig, has also represented England at every level from under 17s through to under 21s.