St Etienne have confirmed the signing of Steed Malbranque from Sunderland.
The Ligue 1 outfit have agreed a two-year deal for the 31-year-old midfielder, who returns to his native France for an undisclosed fee.
A statement on www.asse.fr read: "It's official. Steed Malbranque is a St Etienne player. The midfielder is committed to ASSE for two seasons."
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce admitted earlier on Wednesday that Malbranque, who began his career at St Etienne's fierce rivals Lyon, was on his way from the club.
"Of course, Steed has done remarkably well for the club over the last two or three years, but it's maybe time that he moves on and we wish him well," Bruce told The Sunderland Echo.
Source: PA
