McCann seals Villa switch

Sunderland tonight confirmed that Gavin McCann has safely negotiated the final hurdle of his £2.25m (€3.2m) move to Aston Villa after passing a medical.

Villa announced earlier today that the deal was done subject to the necessary fitness checks, and now the England midfielder has simply to complete the formalities to become a Villa player.

A Black Cats spokesman said: “Gavin McCann has passed his medical at Villa Park and the clubs have now completed the agreement for the transfer of his registration to Aston Villa, with immediate effect.”

“The club extend their best wishes to Gavin at his new club.”

Sunderland revealed yesterday that they had agreed a fee with the Midlands club and granted them permission to talk to the Blackpool-born midfielder, and although Villa boss David O’Leary remained cautious, the deal has been tied up swiftly.

McCann becomes O’Leary’s first signing – and the first of Mick McCarthy’s big names to leave the club in an inevitable exodus following relegation from the Barclaycard Premiership at the end of last season.

McCarthy has never hidden his admiration of a player whose form at the peak of Sunderland’s Premiership charge briefly forced him into the plans of England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

However, he was philosophical as Villa, who have also been linked with Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, closed in on their man.

“Everyone knows my thoughts on Gavin,” he said. “He’s a terrific player, one I’d like to keep, but it was impossible to do so. But good luck to him because he’s a terrific lad.”

McCarthy is unlikely to receive much, if any, of the proceeds of McCann’s sale with the club still deep in debt, but his departure will at least reduce the wage bill.

However, that will need to come down even further before he is able to start the process of rebuilding his squad.

Kevin Phillips, Sorensen, Michael Gray, Claudio Reyna and Tore Andre Flo, like McCann, had all lost their usual shirt number when McCarthy’s squad list for the new season was announced yesterday, and the implications of that are not difficult to see.