Carlos Edwards says that Dwight Yorke played a part in persuading him to join Sunderland.
The 28-year-old is a Trinidad and Tobago team-mate of Yorke, having played alongside him in last summer's World Cup finals in Germany.
And after completing his £1.5m move from Luton yesterday, Edwards told SAFC World: "Dwight had a huge part to play. I didn't need much persuation to come, but I spoke to Dwight and as you know, he's so laid back he can sleep on water!
"But he told me he has been at other clubs like Manchester United and Aston Villa, and he has never seen the facilities he has at Sunderland. For him to say something like that rules a lot, so I didn't need a lot of convincing.
"It was time for me to move on to better things, no disrespect to Luton Town, and I'm just looking to make the best of my opportunity here.
"I'll work as hard as any of the other players and hopefully my input can be good enough and we're looking at promotion to the Premiership at the end of the season."
Edwards was Luton's top-scorer with six league goals before he made the switch to Sunderland. He played in the Hatters' 0-0 draw at home to Cardiff on New Year's Day before travelling to Wearside for talks.
"I was only given permission to come and speak to Sunderland after our game on New Year's Day," he said. "But I'm here now and I'm delighted.
"I've seen the stadium before, I played here for Luton earlier in the season when we were beaten 2-1, but it's the first time I've seen the training facilities, so I'm just looking for better things to come."
The Edwards deal completed a busy day in the transfer market for Sunderland yesterday, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal at the Stadium of Light.
He followed Marton Fulop's deal from Tottenham, also signing a three-and-a-half-year deal, while Ben Alnwick (Tottenham), Liam Lawrence (Stoke) and Robbie Elliott (Leeds) all left the club.