SUNDERLAND boss Peter Reid has added the first buy of the summer to his under-fire squad.
The Black Cats chief is understood to have completed the capture of Liverpool full-back Stephen Wright.
The right-sided defender will be unveiled at a Press conference this morning after agreeing a switch to the Stadium of Light.
The 22-year-old is thought to be costing £1.5m, with the fee rising to £3m depending on appearances.
Wright has made 14 appearances for the Reds but he has become surplus to requirements at Anfield.
And now Scouser Wright, a former England under-21 international, is ready to ply his trade elsewhere to try to fulfil his potential.
He will go straight into the Sunderland squad that kicks-off their Premiership campaign at Blackburn on Saturday.
Reid, who has come under pressure for failing to splash the cash during the close-season, is also understood to be on the verge of completing his move for Leicester's highly-rated winger Matt Piper.
Piper, 20, has already agreed terms with Sunderland and a switch to the North-East - for a fee believed to be around £2.5m - is thought to be on the cards.
Reid, who has Rangers striker Michael Mols on trial until the end of the week, is also reportedly tracking the Dutchman's Ibrox teammate Tore Andre Flo.
But Flo's agent, Gunnar Martin Kjenner, has revealed he is not aware of any interest from the Wearside outfit.
Kjenner said: "The player is still not in the know on this yet. I haven't heard anything more from Sunderland other than the rumours."
If the Sunderland boss decides to go for Mols, the 31-year-old will cost around £900,000. Ex-Chelsea star Flo could cost as much as £6m.
Sunderland last night tried to diffuse a row with Belgian local government officials after they refused to comply with demands for seven players to undergo drug tests following a friendly match.
It began after the game with Royal Antwerp on July 31, when the Wearsiders were accused of obstructing Flemish government-ordered tests to go ahead.
It is a by-law of that region that the tests are taken, and the Flemish government want Sunderland to be fined.
But Sunderland's director of football operations Mark Blackboure said: ''The issue we had was that seven players were requested for tests when in England it is usually two. We were totally unaware of the Belgian Football Association's new practice of testing seven players and at the time thought that this was excessive and contrary to normal practice."
Meanwhile, midfielder Claudio Reyna has declared himself fit to face Blackburn.
The 29-year-old missed the trip to Spain last weekend after pulling out with a thigh injury.
Read more about Sunderland here.
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