Stoke City Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Sunderland captain Dean Whitehead for an initial fee of £3,000,000, which could rise to £5,000,000.

The 27 year old has this afternoon penned a four year deal at the Britannia Stadium to become the Club's first major signing of the summer.

Whitehead leaves Wearside having made almost 200 appearances for the Black Cats scoring 13 goals during a hugely successful five year spell at the Stadium of Light.

Announcing the news, Chief Executive Tony Scholes told stokecityfc.com: "We are delighted to have completed our first major signing of the summer transfer window.

"He is a player who possesses plenty of top flight experience and has proven leadership qualities having captained Sunderland for the past few years."

Manager Tony Pulis added: "Dean is a fantastic player and a great acquisition for this Football Club.

"He is someone I and my backroom staff have admired for a long time and to have managed to have brought him here signals our intent for the upcoming season.

"Dean is a box to box midfielder who has a great engine and he is a player I am looking forward to working with."