Alex Revell has explained the reasons for Stevenage's pursuit and loan signing of Eli King - and it has just as much to do with the rest of the squad as it has with the quality of the Cardiff City man.

The 21-year-old midfielder has joined for a full season in League One and the Boro boss says he has been on the radar for some time.

"Eli is someone that we've liked here for quite a while," said Revell. "He's got a real good stature, six-foot one, full of energy and athletic. 

"He's had loans and he's just signed a new deal at Cardiff. From their point of view, I think this is [the club he needs] to see if he can play in League One 

"From our point of view, we really believe he is above this level. 

"He’s played for Cardiff in the [Carabao Cup against Bristol Rovers] and did well. 

"He is a forward passer, he wants to play forward but he can deal with the physicality. 

"And for us, he has all the qualities that we're looking for in a midfielder. He's an all-rounder."

READ MORE: Eli King on his reasons for joining Stevenage on loan from Cardiff

The Boro boss also feels he will add to the current crop of midfielders, giving them plenty more options and plenty more cover.

And getting that was also key to the signing.

Revell said: "When we looked in the summer, we had Nick Freeman out and all of a sudden we're down to three midfielders. 

"We’ve been playing Nathan Thompson as a holding midfielder and he’s done a great job all summer, he came back in top shape, but he's not a midfielder. We've pushed him in there. 

"We needed to get another number in there. 

"I think probably the big thing as well was when we signed Dan Phillips, we saw him as a six. We saw him as someone who could sit and run games for certain and intercept balls too. 

"But he's proved he wants to run, he wants to get out to the ball, he wants to press, so he's changed our thinking a little bit. 

"That’s not to say he can’t do it, he absolutely can, but we've now got real balance. 

"I think Harvey White has done a fantastic job and he's growing but he's never played 40 games in a season. 

"He will have a dip for sure because of his quality and the way he plays. 

"So we need competition there and competition in terms of quality. 

"We see Eli a bit like Finley [Burns] and we hope that he has as much success as Finley. 

"But I feel Eli may have more quality playing forward and understanding the role a bit more. 

"He might not be as defensively minded as Finley but we can get that."