Sunderland have announced the signing of veteran Premier League striker Louis Saha on a one-year deal.
Saha, a free agent after his release by Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer, finally ends manager Martin O'Neill's efforts to bring in a new striker ahead of the new season.
He revealed he was travelling to the north-east for talks with the club on Twitter this morning amid speculation Sunderland were interested, and could now play a part in their season opener against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Mackems were knocked back twice by Wolverhampton Wanderers in their pursuit of Scottish striker Steven Fletcher, 25, and have instead turned to Saha, nine years Fletcher's senior at 34.
Sunderland have now become the sixth Premier League club the former France international has joined in his career.
Having played 12 games on loan at Newcastle United as a 20-year-old during the 1998/99 season, Saha then joined Fulham from French club Metz in 2000.
Instrumental in the club's promotion to the Premier League, he departed Craven Cottage for Manchester United in the 2004 January transfer window for £12.8m.
Despite an excellent start in which he scored seven goals in 15 games, Saha's four-and-a-half-years at Old Trafford were blighted by injury, despite him replacing fans' favourite Ruud van Nistelrooy in the starting XI and making a valuable contribution to the club's 2006/07 title win.
He left Manchester for Merseyside in 2008 where he spent three-and-a-half years with Everton where his fitness problems continued prior to his January transfer to Tottenham.