SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid yesterday clinched the signing of 19-year-old Argentinia Nicolas Medina for £3.5m - and hailed him as "a complete midfield player".

The 19-year-old will join his close friend and former Argentinos Juniors clubmate Julio Arca on Wearside, and Reid is confident that the two South Americans will make a big impact on the Premiership next season.

Arca, who was also signed for £3.5m, has become a huge crowd favourite at the Stadium of Light and was recently voted the club's Young Player of the Year by Sunderland Supporters' Association.

Now Reid is confident that Medina, who has signed a five year contract, will make the same progress and adapt readily to English football.

Reid checked personally on Medina earlier this year and was satisfied that the rave reports he had received from the South American scout were spot on.

He decided to move in quickly for a player who is confidently expected to play for the full Argentina team in the near future.

Medina, who, like Arca, can play in England because he has an Italian passport, was regarded as a boy wonder when he played for Argentina Under-17s as a 15-year-old and he has already been compared to another Argentinos Juniors graduate, the legendary Maradona.

Reid, delighted with his capture, said: "I think I have got value for money.

"I have seen him on a couple of occasions and he has impressed me immensely.

"He has excellent passing ability, good tackling technique and has all the attributes of a complete midfield player.

"I am confident he will settle at Sunderland - you only need to look at Julio Arca and the way he has adapted and taken to English football.

"He is an excellent addition to the squad, and I am confident he will be a huge success."

Reid believes that Medina will benefit by having the friendship of Arca in a foreign land.

He said: "I'm sure they will both help each other - and I am sure this is a player our fans can look forward to seeing in action.

"Julio impressed me with his tremendous ability but he has surprised me with the way he has readily adapted to English football and I believe Nicolas ahas the same attributes.

"I believe Julio's success in his first season has without doubt helped Nicolas's situation - they have played in the same team and have known each other for eight years.

"Both are very highly regarded as players in Argentina, and they are marked down as future internationals."

Reid, however, feels that it is Medina's ability to play football which will help him best adapt to his new lifestyle in England.

"Joining up again with Julio will help Nicolas to settle but the biggest thing is that he can play football - that's the first criteria for him.

"They are friends but the most important thing is that Nicolas is a really good footballer.

"He is an adaptable midfield player who keeps things ticking over - he never gives the ball away and loves to go forward.

"I am made up about this signing because he is a really good footballer."

Medina said: "I am excited about joining Sunderland and the prospect of playing Premiership football.

"I like the English game because it is very fast and it will be a big challenge for me."

Reid added: "He has great technical ability but he can also look after himself, even though he is only 19.

"But there is no pressure on the boy - all I want him to do is come an enjoy himself and try to play."

Reid says that Medina will be the first of a few signings he will make between now and next season, and he could again do his summer shopping abroad.

He admitted: "A few years ago if someone said I would have the number of foreign players I have now in my team I'd have said they were crackers.

"But football is a worldwide game, and English football has become more and more cosmopolitan. You have just got to back your judgement on players, whatever nationality they are."

Meanwhile Sunderland's Brazilian defender Emerson Thome is proud to finish his season at Sunderland fighting for a place in Europe.

The club's £4.5m record signing travels to Goodison Park this afternoon knowing that even a victory might not be enough - his old club, Chelsea, would also have to go down at Maine Road to allow the Wearsiders to gate-crash their way into the UEFA Cup competition next season.

Thome maintains that he and his teammates have never given up hope of qualification, despite a series of disappointing results around Easter which seemed to make the prospect totally unrealistic.

He said: "I never thought that our chances of playing in Europe had gone, but the gap in the table widened because we weren't winning games.

"But whatever happens I am still proud to be finishing the season looking to win something."

Thome, who has been a great success since moving from Chelsea at the start of the season, believes that the Sunderland players are in the right frame of mind as they travel to Merseyside for their last game of the season.

He said: "I know from what I have seen in training this week that the lads are really geared up for this game - we are all well prepared for the task we face.

"The most important thing is for us to beat Everton and not to worry about what might be happening elsewhere - let that take care of itself."

Thome knows just how important it is for Chelsea, who hold a two-point advantage and a much better goal difference, to hold on to sixth place and qualify for Europe.

If they don't, and have to battle their way into Europe through the Inter-Toto Cup it will mean a hard, pre-season slog for the start-studded Londoners.

He said: "Chelsea is a big club and a place in Europe is very important to them, whether it is achieved through their League position or the Inter-Toto Cup.