Transfer Round-up:West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand will undergo a medical at the Stadium of Light today as Roy Keane looks to shore up his defence.
Keane hopes the England under-21 international will become Sunderland's ninth signing of the summer later today after a fee of €10million was agreed with the Hammers yesterday.
"Anton is up today for a medical and we hope to get that tied up today," Keane revealed this morning. "I have got one more player in mind and then that is the end of it for a few months at least - and I think we will all be glad to see the back of it.
"Anton would be a good signing for us. He is a good age and it would be a good environment for him to come here.
"He has played a decent number of games and we hope to get that sorted today."
Ferdinand has rejected the offer of a new contract at Upton Park and Keane, who played with his older brother Rio at Manchester United, is confident he will significantly strengthen the club's defensive resources.
He said: "He (Ferdinand) is a good athlete, he is a good age, he has played a good number of games and he is probably ready for a new challenge after coming up through the ranks at West Ham.
"He has had good experience and he will bring good competition for a place to our club and hopefully we can get him on to another level."
If Ferdinand does seal his switch to Wearside today, he is unlikely to be involved in tomorrow night's Carling Cup second round trip to Nottingham Forest because of a hamstring problem, which could also keep him out of Sunday's Premier League meeting with Manchester City.
He is more likely to make his debut at Wigan on September 13th.
His impending arrival is likely to mean departures from the Stadium of Light for Russell Anderson who is in the process of tying up a year-long loan deal with Burnley. Others look certain to follow him through the exit door.
Everton, meanwhile, have bolstered their defence with the capture of Danish defender Lars Jacobsen on a free transfer.
The full-back was released by Nurnberg at the end of last season and underwent a medical at the club's Finch Farm training base yesterday.
