Sunderland AFC and League One transfer news: Ex-Cats target reveals why he wanted to join Portsmouth

Sunderland wanted to sign the prolific striker back in January but it was always unlikely he would be heading to the Stadium of Light this summer, League One rivals Pompey spending a reported £2million on the striker.

Marquis said: “It’s nice to be back – on a permanent deal this time – after six years and there have been a lot of changes.

“The club’s obviously in a much better position than it was back then and this is a good opportunity, so I’m excited to get started.

“Moving south was a factor in my decision because my fiancée’s family live in Brighton and we’re expecting our second child next week.

"I’m coming here in my prime years and I want to be scoring goals on a regular basis to try to secure promotion.

“But there were a lot of other reasons why this was the best move for me, including working under Kenny again.

“He gave me my first taste of senior football and allowed me to play games in the Championship.”

Meanwhile, Jack Ross has revealed Aiden McGeady could be involved against Oxford United this weekend.

Ross said: “We've not got him absolutely right and ready to go, but because he's been so good in training in the last week and in the bounce game we had behind closed doors, he'll be in and around the squad for it [Saturday]. But he's still got a bit of work to do until he feels fully sharp.”