Leeds United have confirmed that Laurens De Bock has joined Sunderland on a season-long loan move.
The Belgian left-back departs for the Stadium of Light after spending last season back in his homeland at KV Oostende following his failure to break into Marcelo Bielsa's first-team plans when the Argentine arrived in West Yorkshire in June 2018.
"I am very happy to be here because I have heard a lot of good things about the club," he told the Sunderland website. "I’ve spoken to other Belgians who have played here, and they’ve all spoken very highly about the place.
“I know the team wants to go up this season and hopefully my experience will help us achieve that. The manager has been really positive in the conversations I’ve had with him and that’s given me a great feeling because I know they believe in me.”
De Bock was signed by Leeds in January 2018 from Club Brugge and would make seven appearances for the club that season, as they slumped to a 13th-place finish under Thomas Christiansen and then Paul Heckinbottom.
With Leeds well-stocked in the left-back position as Barry Douglas and Gjanni Alioski compete for a starting role, De Bock has a number of other players ahead of him in the pecking order and will now spend the campaign in League One.
After passing a medical yesterday his move has been confirmed ahead of the third tier's 5pm transfer deadline today.
De Bock signed a four-and-a-half year contract at Elland Road when he arrived in January 2018.
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