Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt has welcomed Patrick van Aanholt to Wearside.
The pair played together at Chelsea.
"I was with Pat at Chelsea. we came through the reserves together," Bridcutt told the Evening Chronicle.
"He's a very good player, he's shown his quality in training over the last week or so and hopefully he can take that into the games.
"He's very quick.
"With me, I had to drop down a few leagues to build myself up to get here.
"Pat was like myself, he was at Chelsea, but wasn't getting the opportunities.
"Now he's got a great chance to come here and work with a top manager."
