SUNDERLAND have completed the signing of goalkeeper Alex Bass from Portsmouth.

Bass has completed a permanent move to the Stadium of Light and signed a three-year deal with the Black Cats.

The 24-year-old moves to Wearside to provide competition and cover for Black Cats number one Anthony Patterson.

"I’m absolutely delighted to be here and as soon as I heard about the opportunity to come to Sunderland, I was desperate to take it," said Bass. "This is a massive club and the move represents a great chance for me to test myself in the Championship, which is filled with talented players.

"Sunderland had a great run last season and to earn promotion through the play-offs is always tough, so it shows there is a great bunch of lads here.

"I went out on loan earlier this year and it was important to get out there and play games, but now I want to push on and I’m excited to play my part at the Stadium of Light."

With Lee Burge having left the Stadium of Light this summer to join Northampton Town, Patterson has been the only senior shot-stopper on the club’s books.

Jacob Carney has been part of the first-team squad during pre-season, and played the full 90 minutes of Monday’s final pre-season friendly at Hartlepool, but Alex Neil does not feel the homegrown 21-year-old is ready for a full season in the senior group and would prefer to send him on loan for some regular experience.

That has led him to look elsewhere for an alternative to Patterson, and while Sunderland were linked with a possible move for experienced Leicester City shot-stopper Daniel Iversen, they instead turned their attentions to Bass.

The Pompey shot-stopper is a product of the Fratton Park academy, and had loan spells at Torquay United and Southend United before spending the second half of last season on loan at League Two side Bradford City.

Bass made 21 appearances for the Bantams in the second half of last term, keeping six clean sheets for Mark Hughes’ side. He made his Portsmouth debut in 2016 at the age of just 16m but has amassed just 15 league appearances for the club.

"We know that we needed to add competition in the goalkeeping department and Alex fits our model in terms of signing another young and up-and-coming player," said Neil. "He’s a big lad and he’s got quality - and he’s brave – so now his job is to push Anthony Patterson and force his way into the team.

"He’s played games, but he’s of an age profile whereby his best years are ahead of him, so we believe that he’s a good fit for us. Hopefully he can add to his current experience and continue to develop into a really good goalkeeper."