New Zealand youngster Simon Brotherton is excited about his move to Sunderland.

The Black Cats sprung a bit of a surprise when they announced the capture of Brotherton 24 hours on from Deadline Day.

He said: "“I'm happy to be here and I've enjoyed my first few days.

“The players are a good bunch of lads and I know Michael Woud from my time in New Zealand so it's nice to have a familiar face around.

“I'm an aggressive player, a good communicator and a good leader. I like to think I can read the game pretty well and I'm good in the air.

“I need to keep working on my range of passing, decision making and speed of play," he continued.

“I used to play centre midfield until I was about 16 or 17 then I moved backwards into the defence.

“It's a high level here and I need to adapt to that. Every player wants to play games and I'll be doing all I can to earn an opportunity like that."