Keane's search lands McShane

The fee for the 21-year-old Republic of Ireland defender could ultimately rise to £2.5m, depending on appearances and his new club's ability to preserve their topflight status.

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McShane's capture is likely to have forced a wry smile from his new boss, with Keane having revealed he first realised he was in for a tough summer after speaking to a Premiership player in June.

Despite signing Kieran Richardson for £5.5m, Michael Chopra (£4m), Greg Halford (£3m), Dickson Etuhu (£1.5m) and Russell Anderson (£1m) as well as McShane, he has missed out on David Nugent and Leighton Baines.

He said: "I made enquiries for one player six weeks ago and he said I have no intention of going anywhere near Sunderland.

"He told me, 'I won't waste your time'. He said, 'If I do leave, I'm going to go abroad'."

Keane has at least taken his summer's rejections with good grace, saying: "I respect him for that because he didn't speak money and send us on a wild goose chase. I knew straight away that, when you are bringing in top players, they want to be playing Champions League or the UEFA Cup or challenging for the European places.

"At this moment I can understand players having a question mark over Sunderland."

Long-term target Baines phoned the Sunderland manager on Tuesday to inform him he would not be moving to the Stadium of Light. A similar conversation took place with Nugent before the England striker went to Portsmouth from Preston.

Keane was armed with a £30m kitty for new players following promotion but his biggest battle is spending it.

"We can tell them there will be 49,000 fans at each game but the history will suggest that Sunderland is a yo-yo club," he said. "It is, but I'm trying to change that. It was never going to be easy.

"We are trying to sell the players a lot of stuff but we are being honest. I tell the players the way it is. It's going to be a tough season for us, but we need good players. I keep looking. But I look at the players I have brought in and I'm delighted with them.

"Two have slipped away. That's not bad.

"I would like to think we have been competitive. You hear players are on 40-50 grand a week. There are players at Sunderland on nowhere near that.

"It's about getting the right characters into the club. I'm not surprised how competitive it has been in the transfer market. You say clubs have spent £15-£16m, it's peanuts.

"If I think there's a player who will improve our squad, I don't mind giving him the big contract. But if you want the top player, it will be difficult to get him to Sunderland."

Midfielder Tobias Hysen is in talks about a move to Gothenburg in his native Sweden.