Burton Albion have signed the Fulham defender Harvey Araujo on a three-year deal, with the option of a further year, for an undisclosed fee.
The move is the 21-year-old Londoner's first experience of League One football, though he has senior experience a level below: loan spells at Chesterfield and Colchester United. He made 33 appearances for Colchester last season before a fractured cheekbone, sustained against Chesterfield on 3 March, brought his campaign to an early end.
"Harvey is a really promising young player and someone who perfectly fits the type of player we are looking to work with here at Burton Albion," said sporting director Richard Dorman. "He is comfortable on the ball, and, more importantly, he is a defender first."
Araujo joins a squad being rebuilt after 19 players left Burton following last season's escape from relegation. Head coach Gary Bowyer said this month that his own influence over incoming transfers had narrowed, with recruitment now routed through Dorman under the data-driven model favoured by owners Nordic Football Group, and that his group had been training with as few as 12 or 13 fit players.