Leeds United send Laurens De Bock to Sunderland on busy day of squad trimming

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have sent Laurens De Bock to League One side Sunderland on loan, Conor Shaughnessy to Mansfield Town on a temporary deal and have released Vurnon Anita.

Belgian De Bock, who was all set for a move to Aris Thessaloniki just weeks ago, will spend the rest of the season at the Stadium of Light.

He passed a medical over the weekend, after Black Cats boss Jack Ross decided to bring in a player with senior experience at left-back.

De Bock arrived at Elland Road in a £1.5m move from Club Brugge in January 2018. The Belgian First Division and Belgian Cup winner made seven appearances for the Whites before the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

Last summer he was deemed surplus to requirements and spent the 2018/19 season out on loan with K.V Oostende in his homeland.

De Bock has remained outside of Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s plans ever since and a departure seems likely.

Anita has left Leeds United with the former Netherlands international’s contract terminated by mutual consent.

Anita leaves the Whites after a two-year stay at Elland Road that brought about only 14 league starts and 22 appearances in all competitions following his switch from Newcastle United in the summer of 2017.

Defender Shaughnessy sees Mansfield Town as the perfect place to get the first team football he needs.

The Irishman will spend the rest of the 2019/20 campaign with the League Two outfit, managed by John Dempster.

At 23, he believes he needs to be playing regularly.

“This is an important stage of my career and feels like the right move for me,” he said.

“I need to play games, get experience under my belt and I think this is the perfect place for me to do that.

“I’m heading into this loan move with a real positive mindset, hoping to make the most of it and looking to play as many games as possible.”