International midfielder Dean Furman has completed a move to Carlisle United.

The Blues confirmed this morning that the South Africa man has signed a deal until the end of the 2020/21 season.

Furman has been training with Chris Beech's squad in recent weeks and has done enough to convince the United boss he is worth a contract.

The former Oldham and Doncaster man becomes Carlisle's 13th signing of pre-season and will add experience to their midfield options.

He also joins in time to figure in their first competitive games of the season, against Fleetwood in the EFL Trophy next Tuesday and at his former club Oldham in the Carabao Cup next weekend.

Furman is close to returning from a minor pre-season knock which has kept him out of their last two friendlies, having previously played in last weekend's win at Wigan.

The 32-year-old recently returned to England for family reasons after spending the last five years in South Africa with SuperSport United.

The 56-cap Bafana Bafana international, who was born in Cape Town, moved to England aged five and played all his football in the UK before returning to South Africa in 2015.

He had youth spells at Chelsea and Rangers, moving into the professional ranks with the Glasgow club before a loan spell with Bradford and then a permanent move to Oldham.

He spent three years with the Latics and captained the side, making 148 appearances and scoring nine goals.

A spell at Doncaster followed from 2013 with Furman playing 82 times for the Yorkshire outfit and scoring three goals before heading to South Africa, where he captained SuperSport and led the club to seven cup finals, four trophies and five top-eight finishes.

Speaking on Carlisle's website, boss Beech said today: "This one could work out to be an excellent signing for us, and I’m delighted we’ve managed to do it.

“I was aware of Dean when he moved to Oldham from Rangers years ago. As a young player he made a real impact and subsequently moved into the Championship with Doncaster.

“He’s such an intelligent footballer, with the ability to dictate a game - his retain and regain of the ball is exceptional and he adds leadership and maturity into that area of the pitch, when it’s needed.

“Dean will one hundred percent help to improve our other midfield players through the application of his work, and that’s a huge plus for me. We’ve got some real talent in the building and I’m excited to see that progress.”

Beech said Furman had rejected "lucrative offers" from other overseas clubs and said that he remains "in fantastic shape [and is] super fit, and usually tops the stats in terms of distances covered in training, game retains and regains during the time he’s been with us. 

“He’s a great pro with a great attitude, and I’m looking forward to him making us even better.”

Carlisle, meanwhile, have announced that both their league games against Southend in the new league season will kick-off at 1pm.

The Shrimpers visit Brunton Park on Saturday, September 19 - United's first home game of the League Two campaign.

The Blues go to Roots Hall on Good Friday (April 2).

"Chris [Beech] felt an earlier kick-off at Southend would be of benefit to the players, given the time it takes to travel back after the final whistle," chief executive Nigel Clibbens said.

Southend agreed to United’s request, and asked for the same with their trip to Cumbria.