Sunderland manager Alex Neil says new signing Dan Ballard will add competition to his squad.

The 22-year-old completed a transfer to Sunderland from Arsenal on Thursday.

"First and foremost, Daniel will add competition," Neil said.

"Callum Doyle's loan deal ended in May and Arby Xhemajli left the club, so we wanted to add in that area and Daniel fits into our structure of being a young, up and coming player who also has Championship experience.

"He fits the bill and he also knows what it takes to win, sampling success with Blackpool in the Play-Offs before having a year under his belt [in the second tier] with Millwall last season.

"We are really pleased to get this deal over the line."