Sunderland have signed the experienced Belgium right-back Thomas Meunier on a free transfer, with the 34-year-old agreeing a two-year deal as the club prepares for another Premier League season and a Europa League campaign. The move matters because it adds proven top-level and European experience to Régis Le Bris’s squad, strengthening a side balancing domestic and continental commitments.

Meunier arrives after leaving Lille at the end of his contract and becomes Sunderland’s first signing of the summer. He has won 83 caps for Belgium, has just returned from the World Cup, and said Sunderland’s ambition and the chance to play in Europe were major reasons for joining. Over a career including spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, he made 43 Champions League appearances and 33 in the Europa League, and is expected to compete with Trai Hume at right-back, potentially allowing Nordi Mukiele to move into central defence.