The Manchester United defender John O'Shea is expected to sign for Sunderland early next week. Sir Alex Ferguson agreed to sell the Irishman, as well as Wes Brown and Darron Gibson, to the Wearside club last month. O'Shea is the first of the three players to accept a deal.

The Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce has completed the signing of Ji Dong-won from the South Korean club Chunnam Dragons, for a fee that is believed to be more than £1m. A fraction under 6ft 2in, the 20-year-old, who had a trial with Reading in 2007-08 and has attracted interest from Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven, has scored six goals in 11 appearances for South Korea. He has signed a three-year contract with Sunderland.

"As a striker I like to overwhelm defenders," Dong-won said. "I am happy to have a chance to challenge the biggest players and I am satisfied to be at a nice club in the world's No1 league."

Bruce said: "The boy has been fantastic for club and country. He was one of South Korea's stand-out performers during this year's Asian Cup."

The Sunderland manager has also concluded the £6m signing of the midfielder Craig Gardner from Birmingham City.