HAVING completed the signing of former Sheffield United centre-half Matt Kilgallon late last night, Sunderland are hoping to pull off a defensive double after tabling a formal offer for former Newcastle United full-back Habib Beye.

Kilgallon put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal at the Stadium of Light yesterday evening to complete his move from Bramall Lane for an undisclosed fee, understood to be around £2m.

The 26-year-old, who turned down a proposed move to Newcastle earlier in the transfer window, had been expected to join Everton as a free agent this summer.

But after initially visiting Sunderland’s Academy of Light training ground on Wednesday, the former England Under-21 international returned to the North-East yesterday afternoon to undergo a medical and agree personal terms.

He is expected to be officially unveiled this morning, but will not be involved in tomorrow’s FA Cup fourthround tie at Portsmouth as he has already represented Sheffield United in the third round.

“Matthew is a very talented defender and has been coveted by a number of top-flight clubs recently, so I’m very pleased to have brought him here,” said Black Cats boss Steve Bruce.

“He will add to our options across the back ahead of some very important games. I’m sure he’ll prove to be a great signing for the club.”

Kilgallon, who was a trainee at Leeds United before joining the Blades in a £1.75m move in January 2007, was in a restaurant when he was informed of Bruce’s interest, and once he got the opportunity to meet the Black Cats boss, a move to Wearside was the only thing on the menu.

“I’m really pleased,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what was going on, it happened really fast. I came here and met the gaffer, saw the facilities and thought, ‘This is for me’.

“I was out having something to eat when I got a phone call saying Sunderland were interested. I almost choked on my pasta. I thought, ‘Yes, let’s see what they have to say’, and now I’m here.”

Kilgallon turned down a number of contract offers at Bramall Lane, and claims the opportunity to work with Bruce, a renowned centre-half during his playing career, was a major factor in his decision to join Sunderland.

“Sheffield United are a great club and I had some great times there,” he said.

“But I’m ready to go on to the next level now and hopefully I can do that here.

“The gaffer was a centrehalf and he wasn’t bad was he? That was a big thing for me – hopefully he can make me into a better player. I want to learn.

“The fan base and facilities are excellent here too. It was quite an easy decision in the end. Sunderland have some really good players here already.

“It’ll be interesting to train with them and hopefully it will improve me too. I’m looking forward to it.”

Kilgallon is Bruce’s first signing of the January window, and the Black Cats boss is hoping to make Beye his second after his attempts to sign either Guy Demel or Alan Hutton ran into trouble.

Sunderland officials have tabled a formal bid for Beye, which is believed to be around £1.5m, and are awaiting a response.

The Senegal international only joined Villa in a £2m move from Newcastle in the summer, but has struggled to make an impression.

This month’s appearance in an FA Cup victory over Blackburn Rovers was his only first-team outing since late November, with Carlos Cuellar having established himself as Villa’s first-choice right-back and O’Neill preferring former Middlesbrough defender Luke Young as his first reserve.

Beye has struggled to even make the bench in a number of Villa’s recent Premier League matches and, as a result, the 32-year-old is receptive to the offer of a return to the North-East.

He made 54 appearances during a two-year spell at Newcastle that began when he joined from French side Marseille in August 2007.

Beye is one of a number of right-backs to have appeared on Bruce’s radar in recent weeks, but the African has moved to the top of the pile.

Hamburg officials have pushed Demel’s asking price above the £6m mark, and Bruce is reluctant to commit that figure to the capture of a full-back.

Demel is keen to move to the Stadium of Light – despite being on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, the defender is understood to have offered to travel to South Africa in order to make the arrangements for a potential medical easier – but his German club’s intransigence is threatening to scupper any hope of a deal.

Similarly, Tottenham’s desire to play hardball over Hutton is dampening Sunderland’s interest in another of their targets.

Having been unable to reach an agreement that might have seen Anton Ferdinand move to White Hart Lane as part of a deal for Hutton, Spurs officials have demanded the vast majority of the £9m they paid to acquire the former Rangers player in January 2008.

Again, Bruce is unwilling to pay anything like that figure for a full-back, a stance that could also end his longstanding interest in Wigan Athletic left-back Maynor Figueroa.

■ Kevin Ball’s side were outgunned 3-0 by Manchester United reserves at Eppleton last night with Mame Biram Diouf scoring a hat-trick.

Sunderland: Carson, Weir, Liddle, Reed, Kay, Brown, Chandler, Hourihane, Dowson, O’Donovan, Luscombe.