Danny Guthrie has welcomed the arrival of former Reading teammate Hope Akpan to Blackburn Rovers.
The Nigeria international joined Guthrie in swapping Berkshire for Lancashire on a two-year deal this week.
Despite seeing competition for a midfield place increase, Guthrie is confident that the free signing will see others in the squad up their performance levels.
"I spent a couple of years with Hope at Reading," the 28-year-old told the club's official website. "He's a top fella and I got on with him really well.
"He's really impressive physically and really good technically, so I think it's a good signing for the club. He came through at Everton, so he was brought up properly and he knows how to play.
"No team is any good without competition. People can't rest on their laurels and you never know what's going to happen in the season with injuries, so the more quality bodies you have the better."
Akpan is expected to make his Blackburn debut this coming weekend away at Huddersfield Town.
Daniel Lewis
