South Shields sign former Sunderland and England youth midfielder

The 20-year-old has agreed a permanent move to the club after enjoying a short spell on loan at Mariners Park last season.

Wright left Sunderland last month and has spent much of pre-season with Shields, his hometown club.

The former England youth international impressed in Saturday's friendly against Blyth Spartans at Mariners Park, and has now put pen to paper.

He said: "I'm buzzing to have signed and can't wait to get started.

"I've loved pre-season so far.

"The training has been excellent and you can see what the managers are trying to get out of the players.

"The way they want us to play has really caught my eye.

"I got to know the lads really well last season, and my experience here the last time was one of the reasons I wanted to join.

"I hope to start as many games as I can, get no injuries this time, and hopefully score a few goals as well."

Wright has represented England’s Under-16s, Under-17s and Under-18s.

He made four appearances for Shields after joining on a youth loan from Sunderland in January, before an ankle injury cut his season short.

Joint manager Graham Fenton said: "We're absolutely delighted to have secured the signing of Dan.

"As soon as we knew he was available, we wanted to get the deal over the line as quickly as possible.

"His performance on Saturday just reiterated what we already knew about him.

"He admitted himself he kind of ran out of steam in the second half, so as with all of the players at this time of year, he probably needs to do a little bit of fitness work.

"With his attitude, we know he'll get as fit as we need him to be.

"We think that Dan has got that ideal skill-set in the position behind the striker to not only create goals, but score goals as well."