Source: Daily_Mail
Sunderland complete deal for defender Kilgallon from Sheffield United
Sunderland have confirmed the signing of defender Matthew Kilgallon fromSheffield United for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[LNB]York-born Kilgallon is a central defender by trade, but can also operate at left-back, an area in which Bruce has only one senior specialist, George McCartney.[LNB]However, he will be unavailable for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round trip to Portsmouth having already played in the competition this season for the Blades.[LNB]Done deal: Kilgallon[LNB]His capture represents something of a coup for Bruce with Everton among a series of other Barclays Premier League clubs reportedly chasing the player in recent weeks.[LNB]He was also one of Newcastle boss Chris Hughton's top targets, although the Magpies were unable to strike a deal despite making an early move to secure his services with his deal at Bramall Lane due to run out at the end of the season.[LNB]Indeed, Kilgallon indicated that it was his intention to stay at Sheffield United and help in their promotion campaign until Sunderland came calling.[LNB]He emerged from the ranks at Leeds, where he made 95 senior appearances before making a £2million switch to the Blades in January 2007.[LNB]Player of the year for 2008-09, he made his 100th appearance for the club earlier this season.[LNB]Bruce will now get to work on his remaining targets with Wigan's Maynor Figueroa and Hamburg's Guy Demel on his list. Sunderland offer £1.5m for Aston Villa defender Habib BeyeTottenham, Man City and Sunderland in £10m race for Portsmouth's KaboulSUNDERLAND AFC
