Sunderland sign Manchester United duo

Sunderland have completed the signing of Paddy McNair and the wonderfully named Donald Love from Manchester United.

The Black Cats today sealed the capture of the pair of 21-year-old defenders for a joint fee of £5.5 million.

McNair made his United debut in 2014 and went on to rack up a total of 27 first-team appearances for the Red Devils. The County Antrim-born youngster has also represented Northern Ireland 11 times and was part of Michael O’Neill’s 23-man squad at the recent European Championships in France, where he helped his country reach the last-16 before losing 1-0 to eventual semi-finalists Wales.

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Love’s only senior appearance for United came against his new club, in a 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light last season. The Rochdale-born defender has represented Scotland five times at under-21 level.

The duo will link up with former United manager David Moyes, who recently took over from Sam Allardyce in charge of Sunderland, after "Big Sam" was appointed as the new manager of the England national team.

Moyes is also believed to be keen on re-uniting with Adnan Januzaj at Sunderland. The Belgian winger made his first-team debut during Moyes’s short-lived Old Trafford reign, and the then-18-year-old was one of the few outstanding performers under the former Everton boss.

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Januzaj has failed to recapture his best form since his maiden season, and was even loaned to Borussia Dortmund for the first half of last season.

It is believed that, having been made to train with the reserves, Januzaj is unhappy and wants to leave the club on a permanent deal. However, United are only willing to sanction a loan deal for the talented 21-year-old.