Photo by dkodigital

Sunderland have raided Manchester United and have welcomed both Wes Brown and John O’Shea to Steve Bruce’s squad.  Both players were deemed non-essential to the future of United, and Ferguson decided to unload them. In addition to those two signings, Sunderland now have accumulated David Vaughan, Connor Wickham, Ahmed Elmohamady, Craig Gardner, Ji Dong-won, Kieran Westwood and Sebastian Larsson this summer.

This is a good bit of business from Steve Bruce, considering that John Mensah will be returning to Lyon this season.  Sunderland will feature a new look to their squad this coming season.  The Black Cats have wisely invested the Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent money.

And Bruce may not be done raiding Manchester United just yet.  Darron Gibson could still make a move to the Stadium of Light before this summer is over.  At this rate, look for Sunderland to push for a Europa League spot.

That may be wishful thinking but anything is possible at this point in the summer.  If anything, Bruce and his squad could make a run in either the F.A. Cup or League Cup.  Sunderland have invested the money to increase their chances of success this season and for that they should be applauded.

In regards to their most recent signing, Wes Brown only made seven appearances in the Premier League last season for Manchester United.  The 31-year old former English international is certainly on the downside of his playing career, but that doesn’t mean that he still cannot provide assistance to a club like Sunderland.

John O’Shea, meanwhile, is the Premier League equivalent of a utility player in baseball.  He made twenty league appearances for Ferguson last season, mostly at right back.  O’Shea is able to play a number of positions effectively, including right back, centre back, defensive midfielder, and left back.  The 30-year old Irish international is delighted to be moving to Sunderland:

“Once I’d heard reports about the club and the people here, the ambitions and what the manager was all about, it was the only place I was going to come to.”

It is not yet clear what Sunderland had to pay for O’Shea, but the Irishman has signed a four-year deal to play for the Black Cats.  According to reports, United accepted an offer of around £1 million for Brown.  Brown also agreed to a four-year deal with Sunderland.