Pearce helped Scunthorpe win promotion to the Championship

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson says Birmingham City defender Krystian Pearce has moved to the club on loan to realise his playing potential.

The 19-year-old will come in behind first-choice centre-halves Craig Morgan and Gabriel Zakuani for the season.

Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "He has good mobility and good pace, is young and wants to learn."

Posh had a chance to assess Pearce when he faced them twice last season while on loan at Scunthorpe.

Ferguson confirmed that he would not be looking to add any more names to his squad, despite only having three recognised strikers in Aaron Mclean, Craig Mackail-Smith and Ben Wright, who went to Kettering on loan last season.

"I'm happy with what I've got," he said. "I had a feeling Ben would come back the way he has. I think a lot of people were expecting me to sign a striker.

"We did go for Freddy Sears which would have been a great addition but I'm not going to sign anyone for the sake of it, it's hard getting good strikers."

Pearce was handed his first appearance for Peterborough in a friendly against Aston Villa at London Road on Saturday, which attracted an attendance of 3,930, a figure that surprised Ferguson.

"I think everyone would have expected more fans than that. I'm not going to sit here and criticise my own fans but the fact you asked the question shows you're surprised by it," he said.

Posh continue their pre-season preparation on Tuesday night when they host Tottenham.

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