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Seb Larsson’s spell at Sunderland is over, bringing down the curtain on his six-year stint on Wearside.

The Sweden international was out of contract at the end of June and, as reported at the time by Chroniclelive, the club offered him a new deal at the end of last season which would have allowed him to extend his stay.

But last month Larsson’s agent Per Jonsson let it be known that there was also interest from other clubs in England, as well as in Turkey, China, and his homeland.

And with Sunderland having returned to pre-season training, while Larsson’s camp continues to stall and give no firm answer to the contract offer, Sunderland have accepted that the 32-year-old will not be coming back.

New boss Simon Grayson intends to rebuild the squad this summer ready for the Championship campaign, and will now start the search for a replacement.

Larsson was Sunderland’s second-longest serving player, having been signed by Steve Bruce at the beginning of July 2011 when he joined the club on a Bosman free transfer after his contract at Birmingham City expired, with only Lee Cattermole having been at the club longer.

Larsson made 203 appearances and scored 14 goals in all competitions for the Black Cats.

His tally of 176 Premier League outings for Sunderland means he ranks second in the club’s list of top all-time Premier League appearance-makers, with only John O’Shea having played more games in that competition for the Wearsiders.

O’Shea was also out of contract in the summer but has agreed a new one-year deal to stay at the club. The 36-year-old Republic of Ireland defender is just 11 outings short of clocking up 200 Premier League appearances for the Black Cats.