Black Cats snap up Cuellar

Sunderland boss Martin O’ Neill has signed Carlos Cuellar on a two-year deal after the defender’s Aston Villa contract expired at the weekend

Cuellar: Reunited with O'Neill

The move sees the Spaniard reunited with O’ Neill, who brought him to Villa Park from Scottish side Rangers back in 2008.

Cuellar won the SPL and Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards at Ibrox before O’Neill recruited him for Villa, where he became a fans’ favourite, making 94 appearances for the Midlands outfit.

The 30-year-old is O’Neill’s first permanent signing since being handed the reins and signals the start of a restructuring process in which the Ulsterman looks to offload players he deems surplus to requirements.

Black Cats owner and chairman Ellis Short has stated the club will gun for quality rather than quantity in terms of transfers in the off-season, but value for money will also be imperative.