MICHAEL BRIDGES has gone straight into the Sunderland squad for tonight's Championship match with Leeds - and he's desperate to help the Black Cats back to the Premiership.

The finishing touches to the deal were concluded yesterday and, as he has signed on an initial three- month loan deal, Bridges can face his former employers this evening.

The 12pm deadline yesterday passed without Bridges finalising terms on a permanent switch to the club where it all started for the front-man from North Shields.

But the loan terms agreed with the Bolton striker mean he can still play at Elland Road.

Bridges said: "I'm excited to be back. it's amazing how things work out in football. The fact that I started my career here and had such a good rapport with the fans were two of the reasons for me coming back. Mick has a good squad of players and it's my aim to get back into the Premiership."

Boss Mick McCarthy, who saw the injury-prone front-man put through his paces in a medical, admitted the move is a gamble, but insists the striker can make up for lost time at the Stadium of Light.

The Tynesider has not scored in over four years of League action and, with question marks still hanging over his fitness, he has been allowed to leave Bolton without even making an appearance.

"He has not played that many games consecutively and that has not been ideal for him," said McCarthy. "I've talked to him and we have had our medical team look at him. Fingers crossed it will be OK.

"He has been unfortunate over the past few years. He was a top player and I'm sure he wants to get back to that. He got 19 in 34 at Leeds one year. I saw him play when he was doing that well but it was a while ago.

"All players want to play first team football and I'm sure Michael will be no different. It is a gamble, how much of a gamble we will see."

The 26-year-old completed the switch away from the Reebok Stadium, despite only joining the Trotters in the summer, when he opted against a deal with Sunderland.

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce said: "Sunderland are taking over Michael's contract. He needs to be playing first-team football and that would only have happened on a spasmodic basis here.

"Sunderland will be good for him because he is going back to the club where it all started. It's a lower division, but that probably suits him at this moment.

"The only problem Michael has is persuading people of his fitness. Mick McCarthy asked about it, but Michael has been fit for a year now."

Bridges first made a name for himself with the Black Cats before Leeds paid £5m for him in 1999.

But his dream switch to Elland Road, where he made just 61 starts, turned into a nightmare when his four seasons in Yorkshire were blighted by calf, Achilles and knee problems.

Initially things went well. He scoring 21 goals in his first season at Leeds but his goal against Everton on May 8, 2000, remains his last at first-team level.

There are fears he will not be able to recapture his best form and that was why Sir Bobby Robson did not turn a loan into a long-term deal at Newcastle at the end of last season.

Bridges' arrival comes as Ben Clark, to Hartlepool, and John Oster, to West Ham, look like following Darren Williams out of the door at Sunderland.

McCarthy admitted he has to let players leave so that he can bring new faces in.

Sunderland make the short trip to Leeds tonight aiming for a fourth successive win.

McCarthy's men are two points ahead of Leeds, who sit six adrift of second-placed Reading.

The fixture is a sign of the times for both clubs as, a little over three years ago, Leeds were in the semi-finals of the Champions League and Sunderland recorded a seventh-place Premiership finish in the 2000-01 campaign.

Both have gone through expensive relegations and are hoping to strengthen their bids for promotion back to the top-flight by picking up the points tonight.

Sunderland will not be able to field young forward Simon Johnson, who is on loan from Leeds.

While Kevin Kyle underwent an operation on his hip injury yesterday to try to solve the problem. Julio Arca (leg), Carl Robinson (head) and Jeff Whitley all returned to training.

* Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell believes the fruits of the club's labours have ensured potential poachers can no longer take their pick of Elland Road's best players.

The Yorkshire club are slowly emerging from a financial minefield, which led to the club standing on the brink of extinction, ultimately averted by a takeover and the sale of their stars.

Due to United's parlous position, in particular after relegation in the summer, the vultures were able to swoop and prise out of the club's grasp the big-name players for fees arguably far below their true worth.

Many were allowed to leave for nothing, simply to reduce a crippling wage bill, although Leeds have occasionally had to do deals with buyers whereby they still pay a proportion of players' salaries, such has been their plight.

But the times are changing at Leeds, to such an extent Blackwell is now in a position to politely dismiss enquiries.

Blackwell has recently had offers for promising England Under-21 international goalkeeper Scott Carson, who has attracted several admiring glances.

But they have all been knocked back and Blackwell revealed: ''The club is moving on so quickly that if we do get an offer for any of the players we are in a position to turn it down.

''That's something a lot of clubs will have to learn. If they come to Leeds United now, they will not be cherry-picking our best players for nothing. If we do sell someone then we will sell them because we think it is right and at the market value for that player.

''Our financial position now is we don't have to take ridiculous offers for our players, which is a good situation.