Adam Matthews has joined Sunderland, the club have confirmed.

Deal finalised

The Black Cats paid Scottish champions Celtic £2million pounds for his services and the player has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the club.

Reports circulated yesterday that Sunderland had seen their bid accepted for Matthews, but now agreements between the parties have been finalised and the deal has officially been confirmed.

Head coach Dick Advocaat, who will continue as the manager of Sunderland this season having renewed his contract earlier this summer, spoke highly of the new signing to the club's website.

Advocaat pleased with his club's new addition

Advocaat said that Matthews "is a welcome addition to [the] squad," as the club are aware that they "need quality players to improve competition for places," and admitted that he is "very pleased" with the signing.

The club's sporting director, Lee Congerton, also spoke about the transfer and revealed that Sunderland "have been tracking [Matthews] for some time."

Congerton went on to add that, despite the player being "only 23-years-old," he will bring "a wealth of experience" to the team and he is confident that Matthews "will continue to improve under the leadership of Dick Advocaat."

The right-back leaves Celtic after four years with the club, a time during which he made 150 appearances for them. However, the Welshman began his career with Cardiff City in his home country, coming through their youth ranks before turning out for the first team in 2009, still a youngster at 17-years-old.

Despite his inexperience and youth, the player nailed down a starting berth with the Bluebirds, playing 35 games in his first season with the senior side. Yet, opportunities dried up in the following campaign, just 13 arriving, forcing Matthews to look elsewhere for football.

He left for Celtic in the summer of 2011 after 11 years with Cardiff and went on to lift the Scottish Premiership title every year during his four seasons with them.

Matthews is also a full Wales international having made his debut for the senior team four years ago. He has 12 caps for his country.

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About the author
Amee Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]