Sunderland Snare Paraguayan Captain Da Silva

Paraguay captain Paulo da Silva has been enticed to the sole-surviving Premier League representative of the north-east region of England to join Sunderland on a free transfer after his contract with Deportivo Toluca expired.

Following a previous arrival of Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell in the shape of £3.5m, Steve Bruce's second summer capture will compete for the defensive allocations with Phil Bardsley, Nyron Nosworthy, Anton Ferdinand, Paul McShane, Danny Collins and George McCartney.

Da Silva, a 29-year-old centre-back born in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción, has made over 50 senior appearances for his country and earnt early plaudits from his manager as having 'played at the highest level in South America so will bring leadership qualities to our side.'