Manchester United defender John O’Shea is set to join teammate Wes Brown at Premier League rivals Sunderland, press reports said on Thursday.
The 30-year-old Ireland international travelled to Wearside early in the day for a medical and to finalise details of the deal following hot on the footsteps of Brown.
A successful completion of both deals would take Sunderland manager Steve Bruce’s summer signings to date to eight.
The former Old Trafford favourite targeted the pair, as well as midfielder Darron Gibson, several weeks ago when the Black Cats had a joint bid of more than £12-million accepted for the three.
Gibson was quick to indicate his willingness to consider a move to the Stadium of Light, but that deal has proved to be the most problematic.
However, first 31-year-old Brown and now O’Shea have moved closer to accepting Sunderland’s offer to add experience and know-how to a defence which was badly affected by injuries last season.
Both men are able to play in more than one position and have enjoyed success during long stays at Old Trafford, and that winning mentality is something Bruce is keen to bring to his squad.
He has already secured a permanent deal for winger Ahmed Elmohamady, the only one of his loan signings so far to agree a permanent switch, while the club snapped up Connor Wickham, Craig Gardner, Ji Dong-Won and free signings Keiren Westwood and Sebastian Larsson in a flurry of transfer activity ahead of yesterday’s return for pre-season training. — AFP