New Names At Newcastle and Sunderland

1 July 2011, 10:21 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Newcastle have confirmed the signing of teenager Mehdi Abeid from French side Lens while Sunderland have brought in Birmingham winger Sebastian Larsson.

The deal to bring 18-year-old midfielder, Mehdi Abeid, to the Barclays Premier League has been in place for some time, but the Magpies have now formalised the move on a five-year contract.

Reserve team manager Peter Beardsley said: "We are delighted to bring Mehdi to the club. He is a bright, young talent and we think he has an exciting future ahead of him. After an impressive trial with us earlier in the year, I'm looking forward to working with Mehdi and developing his talent.''

Meanwhile Birmingham winger, Sebastian Larsson, has formally completed his move to Sunderland after signing a three-year deal.

The Black Cats confirmed last week that the 26-year-old Sweden international would be playing his football on Wearside next season, but his move would not officially go through until today following the expiry of his contract at St Andrew's.

Larsson joins Ahmed Elmohamady, Connor Wickham and Ji -Dong-won at the Stadium of Light with manager Steve Bruce having made significant early progress in his rebuilding plan.

Bruce signed the former Arsenal trainee for the Blues for £1million in January 2007 after a successful loan spell, and he went on to make 170 appearances.

However, he did not agree a new contract with last season's Carling Cup winners and, with a series of suitors on his trail, Bruce, who tried to sign him in January, has managed to get his man this time around.

The manager said: "Seb was a fantastic young player for me at Birmingham and he has matured into a very good midfielder. He has been courted by a number of top clubs over the summer, both in England and across Europe, so we are naturally delighted that he has chosen to come to Sunderland.''

Larsson and his new team-mates are due to report for pre-season training next week with the club pursuing further targets as they attempt to build upon last season's top-10 finish in the Barclays Premier League.