Ross County have signed French midfielder Mohamed Maouche on a deal until the end of the season.
Maouche spent three years with English League Two side Oldham Athletic, making 80 appearances after joining from French fifth-tier side Tours in 2017.
The 27-year-old came through the youth ranks at St Etienne and had a spell in Switzerland with Servette, before a stint with Lausanne-Sport.
Maouche had been out of contract at Oldham last summer and although he had initially been handed a short-term extension during the Covid-19 shutdown he was eventually released and has not played this season.
Maouche will reunite with Staggies defender Alex Iacovitti, who he previously played with at Boundary Park.
Maouche will not be available for County’s trip to Livingston on Sunday, with the midfielder completing a period of self-isolation prior to joining the Staggies.
Maouche, who is of Algerian descent, joins fellow Frenchman Tony Andreu in arriving at Victoria Park.
Hughes said: “Mohamed is a player that will feel he has a bit of a point to prove and we believe he can add to the group. He has that bit of flare about him that can spark special moments in games, and we have to make sure that is what he does here and does it consistently.”
“If you look at some of the performances Mohamed put in for Oldham over his time there it shows that he can play and what he will bring to Ross County.
“The important part for us is we need to see his best play every time he steps on to the pitch and I am sure he will want to make sure of that too.”
County have also been linked with a loan move for St Mirren midfielder Sam Foley, with the 34-year-old having struggled for game time with the Buddies in recent weeks.