Rovers have announced that goalkeeper Jason Steele has agreed to join newly-relegated Sunderland for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around £500,000.
The 26 year-old returns to the Championship with the Black Cats after agreeing a four year deal.
Steele joined Rovers on an initial loan deal in September 2014 before turning the deal into a permanent one by January 2015 for £100,000. He made 120 appearances for the Blues in all competitions amassing a total of 28 clean sheets over two and a half years and is said to be delighted with the move back to his native North-East.
Speaking to Sunderland’s media team, the goalkeeper, who played for Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic team, praised the attractiveness of the club; “I’m absolutely over the moon. It’s a dream come true to sign for such a massive club. My family are pretty much split between the three north east clubs, so I spent my childhood watching them all and I remember coming to the Stadium of Light with my uncle and cousin.”
From a Rovers perspective, the club have wished their former shot-stopper well for the future. However the fans at Ewood Park will be eager to see how Tony Mowbray reacts to this departure, as many would have been anticipating that a replacement would have already been lined up, before this deal was announced, in order to fill the gap left by Steele’s exit.
