Sunderland Transfer News: Carlos Cuellar Deal Confirmed

As first reported by WhatCulture back at the start of May, former Aston Villa centre-half Carlos Cuellar has joined former manager Martin O'Neill at Sunderland to bolster the team's defensive line. O'Neill has snapped up the 30-year-old Spaniard, who was a free agent after his contract at Aston Villa expired at the weekend, on a two-year deal. He had previously played for Rangers, winning both the SPL and Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year awards during an impressive season in Scotland and joined Villa for almost £8m in 2008 when O'Neill was in charge of the midlands club, making 123 appearances. Madrid-born Cuellar spent time with both Calahorra and Numancia before joining Osasuna in 2003, and helping them to the final of the Copa del Rey and qualification for the Champions' League as well as the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. The Sunderland defence was beginning to look thin after left-back George McCartney was allowed to complete a move to Sam Allardyce's newly-promoted West Ham, where he played last year, and last year's loanees Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos returned to their parent clubs. They can now call on the Spaniard who predominantly plays at centre-half but can cover both full-back positions He will now join up with the North East club in time to play a full part in pre-season, including the trip to Korea for the Peace Cup. Whether he will be joined by many more new recruits remains to be seen, with O'Neill keen to invest, but owner and chairman Ellis Short indicating that the club will go for quality rather than quantity and value for money this summer.