Adam Matthews may have helped Celtic win four league titles, but head coach Ronny Deila had no hesitation in selling him this summer.
The Wales international, who has won a dozen caps for his country, joined the Bhoys on from Cardiff City in the summer of 2011 on a free transfer when his contract with the Bluebirds expired. He went on to make 150 appearances for the Glasgow giants in all competitions, scoring five goals, and he has helped them win the league title in each of his four seasons at the club.
However, this summer he has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Parkhead, so when Sunderland made an offer of £2million for his signature it was accepted. And Celtic head coach Deila explained to the official club site: “One year left on his contract, we received a good offer, and he wanted to try something else so It was the right time to do it.”
Matthews becomes the Black Cats second signing of the summer, and he could find himself lining up in the back-four alongside Sebastian Coates who has completed a permanent transfer from Liverpool after impressing on loan last season. The Wearside club are also chasing a £5million deal for Zenit St Petersburg defender Nicolas Lombaerts and Dynamo Kiev forward Jermain Lens.
On the addition of right fullback Matthews – who has signed a four-year contract at the Stadium of Light – head coach Dick Advocaat told the official club website: “We know that we need quality players to improve competition for places in the side, so Adam Matthews is a welcome addition to our squad and we are very pleased to welcome him here to Sunderland.”
