Sunderland sign Hutton on loan from Tottenham

Hutton has struggled since joining Tottenham (GETTY IMAGES)

Sunderland have swooped to complete the capture of Tottenham defender Alan Hutton on loan until the end of the season.

The Scotland defender, who signed for the club for £9million from Rangers in 2008, has only started one Barclays Premier League game this season.

His arrival comes as a boost for Black Cats boss Steve Bruce, who also signed Sheffield United's Matthew Kilgallon last week.

Hutton, who has made 40 appearances for Spurs so far, will not be available for tonight's game against Stoke but could make his debut against Wigan on Saturday.

Manager Steve Bruce was delighted at capturing the 25-year-old.

"We have been particularly short of defensive options of late so Alan will come in at a very opportune time and will provide us with vital reinforcements," Bruce told safc.com:

"We have tracked him for some time so we're delighted to have brought him here until the end of the season. I'm sure he will have a big part to play between now and May."

Striker David Healy, meanwhile has joined Coca-Cola Championship side Ipswich on loan until the end of the season.

He will team up with former manager Roy Keane and Daryl Murphy, who also signed for the Tractor Boys earlier today.

Nyron Nosworthy has also left the Stadium of Light for Sheffield United, where he will spend the rest of the season on loan.

The 29-year-old, who signed a new contract with the Black Cats earlier this season, has joined the Blades until the end of the current campaign.

Nosworthy has made 13 appearances for Sunderland this season and 125 in total since joining from Gillingham in June 2005.