GARY MILLS feels Curtis Obeng will prove a “good attacking full-back” for York City after signing the defender on a month’s loan from Premier League Swansea City.

The 23-year-old, a former England Under-19 international who shone for Wrexham in the Blue Square Bet Premier before being snapped up by the Swans for £200,000 in last year’s January transfer window, is likely to go straight into the Minstermen squad for Saturday’s visit of Morecambe to Bootham Crescent.

Obeng played in the same Manchester City youth team as Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge before being released and signing for the Robins in 2009, and has recently had a loan spell at the Minstermen’s League Two rivals Fleetwood Town.

He will shore up the defence following the loss of Lanre Oyebanjo for six weeks with a fractured skull and the move came about, said City’s communications and community director Sophie Hicks, because the pair share the same agent.

“Jason (McGill, chairman) has taken a keen interest in Lanre’s well-being,” she said. “Lanre’s agent is also Curtis’ and Jason asked if Curtis would be interested in coming to York. Gary was keen for him to come and we would like to thank Swansea City for their co-operation.

“We look forward to welcoming him to the club.”

Boss Mills said: “He’s a good attacking full-back. We have left ourselves a bit short because of injuries in that area and we felt we needed to bring another one in.

“He is right-sided but Daniel Parslow proved how versatile he is and had an unbelievable game against Gillingham at left-back.”

Obeng’s signature means City won’t be picking up Northern Irish defender Dean Jarvis for the time being. The 20-year-old played for the Minstermen at Blackburn reserves yesterday, a game Mills’ men lost 6-0.

The two sides were scoreless for about an hour but, as the likes of Oli Johnson, John McReady, Ben Everson, Alex Rodman and Jon Challinor tired as the second half wore on, a strong Rovers outfit – including international strikers David Goodwillie and Nuno Gomes – took control.

“We looked at him yesterday and decided that, at the moment, we are not going to do anything,” Mills added of Jarvis.

“David McDaid got a run-out in the game and Lee Bullock, Jameel Ible and Tom Allan also played.

“We lost 6-0 but it was a very strong Blackburn side with a lot of first-team players.

“It was a good work-out and, although it’s easy to say, the scoreline doesn’t really reflect the game. It was 0-0 at half-time and the players had done superbly well. We had a few young players in there and others that needed a game.”

Added the City boss: “It was a work-out. We needed it for fitness and they probably had £30 million to £40 million (worth) of players out there. There were a lot of internationals.

“The players all need these games. In the last quarter they got tired and that’s when the goals came, but it’s the last half-hour that was good for the fitness.”