Sunderland have announced the signing of German centre-back Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich on an 18-month contract.
The tall defender has been strongly linked with a move to the Stadium of Light since the start of the month and the Black Cats have moved quickly to acquire his services.
The 25-year-old, whose initial deal with Sunderland will run until June 2017, has been contracted to Bayern for the last two-and-a-half years, but has made just 10 substitute appearances for the German champions and spent last season on loan at Schalke 04.
"Jan has a very good pedigree and even though he is still relatively young he has experience of football at the highest level, including the UEFA Champions League," Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce told the club's official website.
"He has real versatility as a player, being comfortable in both the centre-back and midfield roles. He is desperately keen to experience the Premier League and our job now is to do everything we can to help him settle and adapt quickly to life in English football, so he can have a positive impact on our squad."
Kirchhoff, who will wear the number 27 for his new club, joins a Sunderland team that currently sit in the relegation zone in the Premier League table.
Matt Law
