Crawley have signed winger Luke Rooney from League One rivals Swindon Town.

The 22-year-old Londoner will be with Redsuntil January 1 and has been registered in time to join the squad travelling to Cheltenham for tonight’s Capital One Cup tie.

Rooney started his career with Gillingham and made 57 appearances for the club after debuting in 2009, scoring eight goals. During his time at the Priestfield he had loan spells in Sussex with Lewes and Eastbourne Borough, when both were in the Conference.

In January 2012 Swindon paid a six-figure sum to take Rooney to the County Ground and the following month he scored his first goal against Reds.

Rooney has played 27 times for Swindon, scoring twice, and last season he had loan spells with Burton Albion and Rotherham.

He said: “It’s a fresh start for me and I can’t wait to get started. I have really enjoyed the training so far and I like the way Richie Barker sets his team up to play good football. The lads have been really welcoming and I’ve been really impressed by the set-up at the club.

“I’m probably a little bit behind the others in terms of match fitness but that will come and then I hope Crawley supporters will see the best of me.”

Rooney will wear the No.18 shirt.

Manager Richie Barker said: “Luke fits the template of players at the club – he is young, keen to make himself a better player and is coming here for a fresh challenge and motivated to do well.

“He is a little bit behind the others in terms of fitness but he has fitted in well with the squad over the last few days and he will be a big asset to us.”