Sunderland's Vito Mannone looking forward to new season

Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone has revealed that he cannot wait to begin the Premier League season with the Black Cats.

The former Arsenal keeper, who joined the club earlier this month, has also claimed that he is excited to be part of the "project" at the Stadium of Light.

"It's a big positive. It looks like a new era, the beginning of a new project. I'm really happy to be involved in this project now," he told the Northern Echo.

"There are quite a few new players in and it's good that we've all come in at once at the start of something. The lads who were already here are helping us quite a lot.

"I think we've already made great progress in terms of getting to know each other and starting to form a team. In another month, we will be the team that the boss wants us to be."

Mannone has replaced former number one Simon Mignolet, who joined Liverpool earlier this summer.