Oviedo and Gibson offloaded

Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo have joined Sunderland on permanent deals for undisclosed fees, with reports claiming a combined fee of £7.5million.

Koeman: “It’s a good opportunity for them to play. I’m happy for the boys. For Darron there was a lot of competition in midfield.

“In the situation of Bryan Oviedo, it was difficult. He was the back-up for Leighton (Baines) in the left-back position but finally I changed my mind, I spoke to the player and he was always the perfect professional. I understand his feelings. It was difficult for him. He’s got a new challenge to play in Sunderland. First of all (on him leaving) I said to him, ‘No way, no chance,’ because we need back-up and we need competition. But, as a football man, I changed my mind. I like the boy, he was working hard and that was the reason that he got the chance to go and play.

“It was difficult but I think if we get any problems in that position we have some good young ones and I think we can cope with the players we have in our squad.”