El Hadji Ba Signs 3-Year Deal At Sunderland

After months and months of speculation that he'd be arriving at the club, it's finally been sorted so that Le Havre midfielder El Hadji Ba will sign for Sunderland on a free (sort of) transfer on July 1st.

The central midfielder, who has been rated as one of Le Havre's most promising players in recent years becomes a free agent following the conclusion of the French Ligue 2 season, although the club will have to pay a small sum for his services as a way of compensation based upon his age. That figure is reported to be in the region of 400,000 Euros.

The French Under-20 international only featured 12 times last season, netting one goal from a holding central position, and is likely to continue his development on the fringes of the first team and in the Sunderland Development Team.

The move has been in the pipeline for a number of months now, with the player already becoming somewhat of a fans favourite already on Twitter, where he's regularly active and interactive with Sunderland fans.

As for how long it will take him to feature in the team, that's uncertain. However with Ba's arrival it only serves to push the likes of David Vaughan closer to the exit door.