FRAIZER Campbell is poised to become Steve Bruce’s first signing as Sunderland manager at the start of next week.

Manchester United have accepted a formal offer for the striker, which is believed to be in the region of £5.5m and involve payment in a number of instalments.

Having agreed to join the Black Cats instead of accepting a counter-offer from Hull, Campbell is expected to travel to Wearside in the next 24 hours to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with Sunderland officials.

Provided there are no unforeseen problems, the England Under-21 international should be officially unveiled as Bruce’s first summer signing ahead of Thursday’s opening pre-season friendly at Darlington.

Campbell’s capture would represent a notable coup, as the 21-year-old had been on the verge of joining Hull before Bruce declared an interest of his own.

Hull agreed a fee with Manchester United four weeks ago, but Campbell, who spent most of last month representing his country at the European Under-21 Championships, refused to travel to Humberside to talk terms.

Sunderland officials met Campbell’s representatives earlier this week, and those talks have been sufficient to persuade the striker to turn his back on the Tigers.

Instead, the Huddersfieldborn frontman has agreed to follow the likes of Phil Bardsley, Kieran Richardson and Dwight Yorke in signing for Sunderland after a spell at Manchester United.

Campbell joined United’s Academy at the age of 16, and quickly spent a season on loan at Belgian club Royal Antwerp, where he scored 21 goals in 33 games.

He spent much of the 2007- 08 season on loan at Hull, and spent last year on loan at Tottenham as part of the deal that took Dimitar Berbatov from north London to Old Trafford.

He scored his first Premier League goal against Fulham last November, and opened the scoring in England’s second match of the recent Under-21 tournament against Spain. He missed the final, however, after being sent off in the semi-final win over Sweden.

Campbell’s arrival is likely to dampen Bruce’s interest in Darren Bent, and Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is hoping to hijack Sunderland’s pursuit of the Spurs striker.

Having sold Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City for £17m this summer, Allardyce has the funds to make an eight-figure offer for the former Charlton centre-forward.

Spurs are hoping to receive around £14m for Bent, despite the 25-year-old having scored just 18 goals in 60 Premier League appearances since his £16.5m switch to White Hart Lane.

With Campbell poised to sign, Bruce is unlikely to make a bid for Bent until he receives a formal response to this week’s offer for Peter Crouch.

Portsmouth’s boardroom position is complicated by Sulaiman Al Fahim’s ongoing attempts to take over at Fratton Park, but sources on the south coast claim Pompey are unlikely to accept Bruce’s initial bid of £11m, rising to around £13m on appearances and performances.

■ Sunderland have had three of next season’s matches switched for live television.

Sky TV will televise the trip to Burnley, which has been switched to 12.45pm on Saturday, September 19, and the home game with Mick Mc- Carthy’s Wolves, which will now take place on Sunday, September 27 ( 4pm).

Sunderland will also make their debut on ESPN, who have taken over Setanta’s rights packages, when they travel to Manchester United on Saturday, October 3 (ko 5.15pm).