Ex-Sunderland, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday player joins Stewart Donald at non-league club

Former Sunderland and Hartlepool United player Chris Maguire has joined non-league club Eastleigh during the summer transfer window.

The Spitfires are now owned by former Sunderland chairman Stewart Donald after he ended his association with the Black Cats earlier this year.

Maguire, a former Scotland international, scored 28 times in 125 appearances while with Sunderland from 2018 to 2021.

The 34-year-old then netted five times in 39 appearances in all competitions for Lincoln City with three of those goals coming on his return to the Stadium of Light in League One.

The former Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United attacker then moved on to Hartlepool United and then Ayr United but has now concluded a switch to Eastleigh.

Maguire was recently cleared to return to football earlier this year following the conclusion of an FA investigation into alleged breaches of betting rules.

An independent commission initially served Maguire with a £750 fine and a warning, but a successful FA appeal meant Maguire was served with a six-week suspension from all football activities.

That suspension was backdated to November, meaning the 34-year-old is now free to resume his playing career.