Sunderland have announced the signing of Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich.
The German defender has signed an 18-month deal with the Black Cats and arrives at the Stadium of Light having spent his entire career to date in his homeland.
25-year-old Kirchhoff kicked off his career with Mainz and went on to make 58 first team appearances for Die Nullfunfer before making the move to Bayern in 2013.
During his time at the Allianz Arena, former Germany U21 international Kirchhoff spent time on loan with Schalke while featuring sporadically for Bundesliga champions Bayern.
Of the new arrival, Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce told the club's official website: “Jan has a very good pedigree and even though he is still relatively young he has experience of football at the highest level, including the UEFA Champions League.
“He has real versatility as a player, being comfortable in both the centre back and midfield roles.
“He is desperately keen to experience the Premier League and our job now is to do everything we can to help him settle and adapt quickly to life in English football, so he can have a positive impact on our squad."
#SAFC are delighted to announce the signing of centre-back Jan Kirchhoff from @FCBayernEN! #WelcomeJanpic.twitter.com/W92Lwo3kkR
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 7, 2016