McCartney wings out of West Ham

By Simon Hayes on September 2, 2008 9:00 AM |

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GEORGE McCartney has followed Anton Ferdinand out of Upton Park and joined Sunderland.

The Northern Ireland international sealed a return to the Stadium of Light late on Monday night, for a fee reported to be in the region of £6million.

The left-back cited family reasons for his sudden departure, even though he had signed a new five-year contract with West Ham in July, after Sunderland had originally made a £4.5million bid for the player.

He said: "For personal reasons alone, this is the right move for me.

"My wife, Elaine, didn't settle in London and Sunderland have offered me the chance to return to the north-east, where I spent ten years after joining the club as a youngster.

"I'd like to wish West Ham and Alan Curbishley all the very best of luck."

McCartney joined the Hammers from Sunderland in August 2006 for £1million and established himself as a first team regular, being ever-present last season.

West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury said: "We had no intention of selling George McCartney but it became clear in the last couple of days after he handed in a written transfer request that he was desperate to move on for family reasons.

"Once Sunderland came in with an improved offer, we decided the deal was in the best interests of all parties."

His departure leaves Irons' boss Alan Curbishley desperately short of experienced defensive cover with no prospect of bringing in new faces before January.