Oscar Ustari to Sunderland: Black Cats Acquire UD Almeria Goalkeeper on Loan

Sunderland are once again looking likely to finish as one of the busier clubs in this transfer window after bringing in Oscar Ustari as their third signing of the month.

The club's official Twitter account confirmed the news, with a report on Sunderland's official website providing a more in-depth look at the new arrival:

The Argentinian joins the Black Cats from Almeria for the remainder of the 2013-14 campaign, having terminated his contract with the La Liga club, per BBC Sport. There, he'll hope to compete alongside Keiren Westwood and Vito Mannone for a starting spot.

Ustari follows Marcos Alonso and Santiago Vergini to the Stadium of Light, those two having already come in on temporary deals from Fiorentina and Estudiantes, respectively.

The stopper is also Gus Poyet's second South American acquisition after Vergini, with the Uruguayan looking to add some flair from closer to home, it seems.

This season, Ustari has only made three appearances for Almeria, all of which have come in the Copa del Rey, per Transfermarkt.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

The 27-year-old has ridden the bench in favour of experienced goalkeeper Esteban but could now have the opportunity to make his own mark as part of an elite setup once again.

Before joining Almeria, Ustari had stints with Independiente and Boca Juniors in his native Argentina, as well as spending some time as part of the Getafe setup for five years.

The No. 1 also played a role in his nation's 2008 Beijing Olympic success, but suffered a foot injury in the quarter-final against Holland and missed the last two games of the tournament.

With Westwood currently sidelined thanks to a shoulder injury, Ustari will be hoping to take advantage by staging a surge on the first team in the coming months.

Per the Sunderland Echo's Chris Young, Ustari should be on the bench for Wednesday's Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United:

The player hasn't featured for the national team since September 2012 but could hope that an improvement in playing time this season will pave the way for a late World Cup mention.