Dan Scarr is the man for Walsall's defence

Scarr moved to the Banks’s Stadium last week after the club agreed an undisclosed fee with Blues.

Locally though, the defender is best known for playing a starring role in helping Stourbridge reach the third round of the FA Cup in 2017.

Scarr’s performances in the competition that year – where he played under manager Gary Hackett and his assistant Jon Ford – drew interest from Albion, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Port Vale.

But he opted to join Blues – who he supported as a boy, before enjoying a successful loan in League Two with Wycombe last season.

Now he has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Saddlers. And Ford, who worked with him at Amblecote, believes Walsall have made an excellent signing.

“Dan is relishing the challenge he has got at Walsall and I think he is going to be very successful,” he said.

“He is everything you want in a centre-half. He’s athletic, big and strong. He’s what I call a typical centre-half.

“But with a lot of players it comes down to attitude and determination and Dan’s attitude can’t be questioned.

“He went on loan to Wycombe last season and I know they were very impressed with him.

“He had one or two injuries there, but you often see that when players step up from non-league into the professional game.

“You go from training twice a week to full-time. And professional clubs look to do different things – they almost want to change their bodies and that takes time.

“But now he has been in the professional game for 18 months and he is raring to go. Walsall are going to get the best of him.”

Scarr joined Stourbridge from fellow non-league side Redditch United in 2015. And Ford revealed both he and Hackett knew they had signed a special player straight way. “Initially we watched Dan play for Causeway United and then we monitored him when he made the step up to Redditch,” the coach continued.

“We could see his progression, he was tall, he had two good feet so we brought him in.

“Sometimes when you watch a player you can just tell they have got it. And Dan had it.

“We got to work on him but we were only training a couple of times a week.

“But you could see the improvement, he is such a quicker learner and after two or three games he was comfortable at the level.

“We were delighted to see him move into the Football League and the professional game, he deserves it.

“He came to our match at the weekend with Walsall not playing, he still shows his face here.

“And I think that tells you a lot about his character and what he is like as a person.”