Official: Daniel Ballard Joins Sunderland From Arsenal

Arsenal academy defender Daniel Ballard has joined Sunderland on a permanent deal, leaving the Gunners after 14 years.

Following a week of speculation and an almost-move to Burnley, Daniel Ballard has now officially completed a transfer to Championship Sunderland instead.

Sunderland announced the deal today, confirming Ballard has signed a three-year contract with a club option of a further year.

Ballard had been with the Arsenal academy since the age of eight, progressing through to senior football during a few loan spells.

But it was time for the 22-year-old to take his next step, and he's now completed a permanent departure from North London.

"It feels amazing to be here and I’m extremely happy," Ballard said.

"The fan base and size of this football club speaks for itself and having been up here to have a look around, it feels like an exciting place to be.

"Supporters can expect to see a player who loves defending and tackling – I’m more of a traditional centre half and I want to add those qualities to the team, whilst also bringing something a little extra.

"I’m now looking to take the next step forward in my career and I believe this is the perfect place to do it."

Sunderland boss Alex Neil also discussed the transfer with the club website.

"First and foremost, Daniel will add competition," Neil said.

"Callum Doyle’s loan deal ended in May and Arby Xhemajli left the club, so we wanted to add in that area and Daniel fits into our structure of being a young, up and coming player who also has Championship experience.

"He fits the bill and he also knows what it takes to win, sampling success with Blackpool in the Play-Offs before having a year under his belt [in the second tier] with Millwall last season.

"We are really pleased to get this deal over the line."

Ballard had drawn interest from Sheffield United, Blackpool, and most notably Burnley before joining Sunderland.

Burnley's interest was so advanced that the defender even travelled up for a medical, before it fell apart in the final stages.

Instead, Ballard will now bolster the squad of one of Burnley's Championship rivals.

Arsenal had been keen to include a couple of clauses in Ballard's contract with a potential buyer - a matching clause and a sell-on clause.

The matching clause would allow Arsenal first-refusal on any bid Burnley accepted for the player, giving them the option to sign him back for the same price.

The sell-on clause would simply allow Arsenal to take a percentage of a future sale. It's not yet confirmed whether Ballard's Sunderland deal contains either clause.