Grant Leadbitter has rejoined Sunderland from Championship play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough.
The midfielder, 33, has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the League One promotion chasers.
Leadbitter, a lifelong Sunderland fan who began his career at the Stadium of Light, says the opportunity to return to the club he left for Ipswich Town in 2009 was too good to turn down.
“When you’re a born and bred Sunderland fan and there’s an opportunity to come back…I was never going to say no,” he told Sunderland’s website.
Boro signed Leadbitter from Ipswich in 2012 and he made 244 appearances for the Teesside club, playing a key role in their promotion to the Premier League in 2016.
Sunderland boss Jack Ross says Leadbitter’s return was purely for footballing reasons.
He commented: “We haven’t brought Grant back for sentimental reasons, he could have easily continued his career in the Championship.
“Once I started speaking to him, I had a real feel for how desperate he was to come back to Sunderland, and how much he wants to help take the club back to where he feels it belongs.
Leadbitter, who was club captain at the Riverside, had made just eight appearances for Tony Pulis’ men this season.