Sunderland sign Bayern defender Kirchhoff

(Reuters) - Premier League strugglers Sunderland have signed defender Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich for an undisclosed fee, the club said on Thursday. The towering centre back, 25, began his career at Mainz before joining Bayern in 2013. “Jan has a very good pedigree and even though he is still relatively young he has experience of football at the highest level, including the UEFA Champions League," manager Sam Allardyce told the club's website (www.safc.com).