Sunderland Complete Signing Of Yet Another Newcastle United Fan

Sunderland have completed the £2.5 million signing of Brighton winger Will Buckley, reports Sky Sports News. The 24-year-old has signed a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light and reunites on Wearside with his former Brighton boss Gus Poyet. Buckley was a stand-out player at Brighton from the moment he made his debut, coming off the bench in his very first league match at the Amex to score two memorable injury time goals in a unlikely 2-1 win over Doncaster. From there his career on the south coast flourished, appearing over 100 times and scoring 19 goals and becoming a pivotal player during Gus Poyet's reign. Buckley, who also had previous spells at Rochadale and Watford is a well known fan of Sunderland's bitter North East rivals Newcastle United and made headlines when his FA Cup goal at the Amex knocked out the Magpies from the competition in January 2012. In an interview back then he confirmed his Newcastle allegiance;

"I was born in Oldham but started supporting Newcastle from watching Alan Shearer as a kid. I admired how he played, so that€™s where the Newcastle connection came in. "I was the only one in my family who supported Newcastle, just because of Shearer. I got a lot of stick from my mates because, coming from Oldham, they were all (Manchester) United fans."

Buckley becomes the latest boyhood Newcastle United fan to end up at Sunderland. In recent years Adam Johnson and Danny Graham, both well known Newcastle supporters, have ended up in the red and white of Sunderland and until this summer, regular starter Jack Colback was a Newcastle fan playing for the Black Cats. Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said of the transfer;

"Will gave us some great moments during his time with the club and I would like to thank him for his efforts in his time with us and wish him well for the future."