Marshall makes his debut for the Dons against Dundee United

Aberdeen completed the loan signing of Paul Marshall from Manchester City in time for his debut against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday.

Marshall, 20, who has had loan spells with Blackpool and Port Vale in 2009, had been on trial at Pittodrie.

The midfielder hopes to establish himself in Mark McGhee's side before returning to England's Premier League.

"I watched him playing for Manchester City reserves and I liked him," the Dons manager told the club's website.

Marshall had said that he would rather earn a move to Aberdeen than sit in the English Premier League side's reserve team.

"I want to sign for Aberdeen because it is virtually impossible to break into the City team with the kind of money the club is spending," said Marshall.

The left-sided player, who has been on City's books since the age of 11, only made two appearances for Championship outfit Blackpool but went on to play 13 times for Port Vale in League Two.

Marshall is a former England youth team-mate of Aberdeen forward Sone Aluko, who has since switched allegiance to Nigeria.

His England Under-20 team-mate, Javan Vidal, spent the second half of last season on loan to the Dons from big-spending Premier League outfit City.

Meanwhile, McGhee says he is "still interested" in Plymouth Argyle pair Jim Paterson and Steven MacLean, with the latter having started a trial with Hearts.

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