Steve Bruce has completed the signing of Craig Gardner from Birmingham City.
The Solihull-born 24-year-old joins Sunderland on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, becoming the Black Cats' third signing in just over 24 hours following the acquisitions of Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-Won.
Gardner enjoyed a career season in 2010-11 but couldn't prevent Birmingham from slipping into the Npower Championship.
He picked up a Carling Cup winners' medal and scored 10 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions during the campaign just ended, including a spectacular long-range strike against the Black Cats at St Andrew's in April.
Eight of those goals came in the Barclays Premier League, ranking the attack-minded player in the league's top ten midfielders in terms of goals scored.
Gardner - Birmingham's leading marksman last season - began his career with Aston Villa, making his senior debut on Boxing Day 2005 in a 4-0 win over Everton.
The former England under-21 international made 80 appearances for Villa overall, scoring six goals, and also tasted European football during his spell at Villa Park.
Birmingham paid their Midlands rivals £3m to acquire Gardner in January 2010 and he quickly became a favourite amongst City fans.
He made 52 appearances for the club during one and a half seasons, figuring in the 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final back in February.
However, City's bid to escape relegation from the Barclays Premier League in 2010-11 was ultimately unsuccessful, despite Gardner scoring a long-range goal at Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season.
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