Alex Neil reacts as Sunderland beat Championship rivals to Ellis Simms signing

The 21-year-old takes the number nine shirt ahead of the club’s return to the Championship and head coach Alex Neil says he is ‘delighted’ to get the deal done before the start of the new season.

“To have Ellis in the building [ahead of the first game] is great,” Neil said.

"He will compliment Ross Stewart, but equally he will provide competition and he joins following two really good loan spells at Blackpool and Hearts. He’s a big lad, who is direct, quick and mobile - and he’s been a serial goalscorer.

"There’s been a lot of Championship interest in Ellis, but we have managed to secure his signature and we are delighted to get the deal across the line.”

There had been significant interest from across the Championship in Simms’ signature, including from Blackpool where the striker had been part of their League One play-off success alongside Elliot Embleton and Dan Ballard.

An injury prevented his initial return to the club last season but once recovered he joined Hearts on loan, making a significant impression there and memorably scoring against Hibernian in the Scottish Cup semi final.

A host of clubs had provisionally reached an agreement with Everton but Simms has opted to move to Wearside as they look to make an impact back in the Championship.

"It feels great to be here - it’s such a massive club and I can’t wait to get started,” he said.

"As soon as Sunderland showed an interest, I knew this this would be a great environment for me to continue my development and a great platform to show what I can do

Simms is available for Sunday’s visit of Coventry City and speaking yesterday, Neil dropped a significant hint that he could be named in the matchday squad: “It depends how they look, how many days we’ve got on the grass.

"If we manage to get someone training maybe a couple of days prior to the game, then potentially. And it will depend on which position it is, how much cover we’ve got in that area and it will also depend on how we’re planning to go about the game.

"I certainly wouldn’t rule it out, I’d say.”