Alex Neil stressed how much of a coup the arrival of Daniel Ballard was after the Arsenal defender penned a three-year-deal at the Stadium of Light last week. The signing of the 22-year-old Northern Ireland international will add some much needed depth at centre-half, as well as competition for places.
The Black Cats head coach was pleased with the arrival of the former Blackpool and Millwall loanee, but highlighted the battle they had to sign the centre-half. The fallout of Brexit means it's now much harder for clubs up and down the country to sign foreign players, with the likes of Teemu Pukki, an example of a player who would not be able to sign for a club in the Championship, like he did when signing for Norwich back in 2018.
Neil highlights, that as a result of Brexit, young British talent is at a premium and with a greater number of clubs now looking to sign domestic based talents. Sunderland pipped a number of Championship and European clubs to Ballard's signature and it's a positive start to the Wearsider's transfer window.
