Bruce and Quinn Shop at Old Trafford

Big spenders Quinn and Bruce

Steve Bruce has launched a triple raid on former club Manchester United for Darron Gibson, Wes Brown and John O’Shea to add them to the Sunder squad.

The Jordan Henderson’s £20m move to Liverpool should be finalised in the next 24 hours, and Bruce has acted quickly by making a £12m bid for the Manchester United trio as he looks to boost his wafer-thin squad.

The players have all struggled to nail down a regular starting place in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and could be tempted by a move away from Old Trafford in their quest for first-team football.

After the departure of loan quartet Nedum Onuoha, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and Danny Welbeck at the end of last season, Bruce has plenty of gaps to fill as he looks to build on his side’s top-half finish in the Premier League.

One position Bruce is desperate to strengthen is his defence, after injuries to Titus Bramble, Michael Turner and Mensah left the Black Cats boss severely short towards the end of last season.

O’Shea and Brown’s versatility will appeal to Bruce with both able to play across the back four, and with almost 400 top-flight appearances between them, their experience will be valuable to the Wearsiders’ relatively young squad.

After watching his side lose to Barcelona in the Champions League final last month, Red Devils’ boss Ferguson indicated he was keen to move some of his squad players on.

Brown has drifted in and out of Ferguson’s side during his time at Old Trafford, suffering several injury problems.

With the emergence of twins Fabio and Rafael, as well as Chris Smalling, the 31-year-old has found himself down the pecking order.

Republic of Ireland international Gibson had been tipped for a big future at the club. But the 23-year-old has found it difficult to break into a star-studded midfield, while O’Shea has also seen his opportunities limited.

Bruce’s interest in Brown and Gibson has been long-standing, with the former Manchester United centre-back not afraid to knock on Ferguson’s door, and the potential arrival of the trio will add to an already-strong contingent of ex-Man United players at Sunderland.

Armed with the money from Henderson’s transfer, on top of the £24m sale of Darren Bent in January, Bruce has a sizeable transfer kitty to bolster his squad.

With the sale of Henderson edging closer, Bruce will want to act quick to ease fans’ fears for next season, and the boss is understood to be close to securing deals for free agent Sebastian Larsson and Coventry City keeper Kieren Westwood.

Out-of-contract Larsson, a former Birmingham midfielder, completed his international commitments with Sweden on Tuesday and will return to England to finalise his future in the next week with the Wearsiders in pole position to land his signature.

Republic of Ireland international Westwood is closing in on a move to the Stadium of Light after the 26-year-old turned down a lucrative offer to stay at the Ricoh Arena.

Meanwhile, chairman Niall Quinn spoke yesterday over the sale of Henderson, reassuring fans that money made from the deal would be available to reinvest in the squad.

He also paid tribute to the 20-year-old, who was on Merseyside undergoing his medical yesterday.

He said: “Jordan is a credit to himself, his family and Sunderland’s Academy and everyone here wishes him to best of luck for the future.

“I am pleased we got the deal to a level that we felt was right for our club. We know the areas that need strengthening and the type of player we need in order to progress and the job of bringing those players to the club is continuing at a pace.”