McClean, 22, has been capped by Northern Ireland at Under-21 level and was called up into the senior squad by Nigel Worthington before pulling out and announcing he wished to represent the Republic of Ireland instead. The winger also featured in the select Airtricity League XI in the recent Dublin Super Cup alongside Celtic, Inter Milan and Manchester City and has become Steve Bruce's 10th summer signing. Bruce has been busy spending the money he received from the sale of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool and adds McClean's name to a long list of successful summer transfers. Ahmed Elmohamady, young forwards Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-Won, goalkeeper Keiran Westwood, Manchester United defensive duo Wes Brown and John O'Shea, Birmingham pair Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardner and ex-Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan had all been recruited before McClean signed on a three-year deal and Bruce told Sunderland's official website he is happy with his latest acquisition. "I'm delighted with what we've been able to do over the summer. We've the makings of a very good squad and James will now have every chance to come here and make that next step in his career," he said. "James is an outstanding young talent and has rightly attracted interest from a number of clubs over the summer so we're very pleased that he sees his future at Sunderland."
