The club tied up the last few details of the move this morning and the Manchester United defender is in the squad for tomorrow's FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic.

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The signing will be a massive boost to Sunderland fans who saw the classy Northern Ireland defender in imperious form for the Black Cats in the Championship last season.

Keane told the Echo: "We are delighted to have Jonny on board again. He's a player who was absolute quality for us last season but the challenge for him now is to do it in the Premier League.

"He's got a great chance of being a top player and I really do think that this is the ideal move for him, us and Manchester United at this stage of his career."

Evans' arrival kills off any hope of Danny Simpson arriving on Wearside – Premier League rules say you can take only one player on loan from any one club at one time.

And Sir Alex Ferguson has no intention of allowing the right-back to leave on a permanent transfer.

Evans, who is on police bail until February 23 while the police investigate allegations of rape at a Manchester hotel, joined Sunderland at almost exactly the same time last year, on a loan until the end of the season.

He made 19 appearances for the Black Cats, making his debut in the 1-0 FA Cup third round defeat at Preston last January.

The Northern Irishman, who partnered Nyron Nosworthy in central defence, lost just once in 18 Championship games with Sunderland – a 3-1 defeat at Colchester – on his way to claiming a title-winning medal.

He scored once for Sunderland, netting in the third minute of a 2-0 Stadium of Light win over Hull last March.

This term, he has had three matches for Manchester United – a 2-0 Carling Cup defeat at home to Coventry, plus Champions League run-outs against Dynamo Kiev and Roma.

The only other change at the Stadium of Light this morning saw Stan Varga join Championship side Burnley on a month's loan.