10 Things you need to know about new Sunderland signing Anton Ferdinand

Sunderland today completed the signing of West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand for an undisclosed fee.

Black Cats boss Roy Keane told the club's offifical website: "We needed to strengthen our defence and Anton is a great signing.

"He's still young but he has over 160 games under his belt so he has experience, he's learning his trade." Ferdinand said of the move: "It was hard leaving West Ham because I have been there for 16 years but after meeting Roy Keane I knew it was time for a change."

Here's your essential need to know about the UK's biggest Soulja Boy fan…

1) Anton Julian Ferdinand was born on February 18th, 1985 in Peckham, an area of South London famous for being the stamping ground of Only Fools And Horses characters Del Boy and Rodney.

2) He is, of course, the brother of fellow West Ham Academy graduate Rio, and cousin of former QPR, Spurs and Newcastle (to name but three clubs) legend Les.

3) He made his West Ham debut in a 2-1 victory at Preston in the first game of the 2003/04 season. It was the club's first game in the Championship following their relegation the previous season, and manager Glen Roeder played Anton as a right-back.

4) He became a regular in the first team under Alan Pardew and played an important part in the Hammers' promotion push the following season. Anton scored his first goal for the club the in the 2-1 victory at Watford on the final day that secured West Ham's play-off place.

5) The two goals he scored in West Ham's first season back in the Premier League were equally memorable. The first was a last minute equaliser away at White Hart Lane, and the second was this scorcher against Upton Park:

6) The 2005/2006 season ended on a sour note, however, when he missed the decisive penalty in the FA Cup Final shoot-out against Liverpool (at 7:12 in the clip below)

7) His time at West Ham was not without controversy. In 2006 he was charged (but later cleared) with assault occasioning ABH and affray following an incident at Faces nightclub in Ilford, Essex. In March 2007, meanwhile, Anton was fined two weeks wages for breaking a club curfew to celebrate his birthday in South Carolina. West Ham were in the middle of a relegation battle at the time, and he told club officials he was actually visiting his sick grandmother on the Isle of Wight…

8) He made a total of 163 appearances for the Hammers and scored 5 goals - including this header to help West Ham secure victory over brother Rio's Manchester United side at Upton Park last season:

9) He made his England U-21 debut in a 3-1 victory over the Ukraine on August 17, 2004 and has gone on to win 17 caps. Anton made his final appearance in the 2007 European U-21 Championships semi-final against hosts Holland. He again suffered penalty shoot-out misery, scoring and missing one in the eventual 13-12 defeat.

10) He fancies himself as a dancer, as this infamous, er, tribute to US rapper Soulja Boy, recorded with ex-West Ham team-mate Nigel Reo Coker, shows. Night-club patrons of Sunderland, you have been warned…

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