Troy Deeney believes that Sunderland’s £17million acquisition of former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka could prove to be the ‘signing of the season’.

Sunderland signed Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen after gaining promotion from the Championship via the play-offs.

And despite many fearing the worst for Regis Le Bris’ side this season, they have massively exceeded expectations, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table and just two points off the top four.

The Black Cats have lost only one of their last six games, and produced a remarkable turnaround to claim a 3-2 win against Bournemouth at home on Saturday.

Key to their form has been the performances of Xhaka, who returned to the English top-flight with a point to prove after leaving Mikel Arteta’s side to join Leverkusen in 20

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