Newcastle Falcons have signed scrum-half Josh Barton from Championship side Coventry on a two-year deal.
The 24-year-old playmaker spent time at Exeter Chiefs in under-18s and the Bristol Bears academy, and also played for London Scottish in the second tier.
He made the 2019-20 Championship team of the season for his performances at Scottish, and has played 26 games for Coventry since joining in 2021.
"Newcastle have got a lot of class players and coaches," Barton said.
"They can really push my game on to the next level, and I really want to challenge myself."
Barton joins fly-halves Josh Thomas and Tian Schoeman from Ospreys and Bath respectively, and Doncaster Knights lock Josh Peters in signing with Dave Walder's side for 2022-23.