Who is Daniel Ballard? Sunderland's new signing and talented ex-Arsenal youngster

Here, we run you through everything you need to know about the talented defender...

Who is Daniel Ballard?

Ballard is a centre back who at 22 already has fifteen Northern Ireland caps to his name.

His first loan at Swindon Town was cut short by injury but a year later he would be a key part of the Blackpool side who stormed to promotion via the play-offs in the second half of the season.

A team-mate of Elliot Embleton's, he played in Blackpool's 1-0 win over Sunderland at Bloomfield Road towards the end of the regular season.

A loan to the Championship and Millwall followed last season, and he stepped up again in making 31 league appearances as Gary Rowett's side finished in ninth, just six points short of the play-off places.

What kind of player is he?

Ballard is a predominantly right-sided defender capable of operating either in a back four or a back five.

He is generally seen as a traditional centre-back who excels at the defensive side of the game but his passing range has also drawn praise, and his statistics on that front compared favourably at second-tier level last season.

How have Sunderland beaten off the competition to potentially sign Ballard?

Ballard was on the brink of signing for Burnley before the deal broke down in its latter stages. The fee was reported to be in the region of £2 million.

Burnley instead moved to sign Luke McNally from Oxford United for a similar fee, and are expected to add Manchester City defenders Taylor Harwood-Bellis and CJ Egan-Riley in the coming days.

That created a window of opportunity for Sunderland who have moved quickly.

Millwall were interested in a deal, with boss Rowett confirming earlier this summer that they would look to sign him.

“Would we want to bring Dan Ballard back to the club at a price that we felt was the right price for us? Of course we would," he said.

“But Arsenal may have have different ideas.

“The point is they may be open to it. We’d certainly be keen if [they were] because he performed so well last year.”

With Millwall now believed to be closing in on the loan signing of Charlie Cresswell from Leeds United, Sunderland’s decisive move paid off.

It represents a very strong start to the club's summer business and would be a coup for the hierarchy.

Sunderland have vowed not to move from their sustainable model this summer, but this deal would suggest they are prepared to invest significant sums on players with quality and resale value.