For such a quiet man, Steed Malbranque stirs a lot of clamour. Figures of substance vie with each other to express their admiration for him, from a former Prime Minister and an England manager to an Irish legend. Tony Blair once named him as his favourite player, Sven-Göran Eriksson attempted to poach him from France and now Roy Keane is relishing their work together. An impressive list, an impassive personality.

To describe Malbranque as taciturn is like referring to Joey Barton as a bit of a character, but with the latter making his comeback from suspension, both men will be consumed by the din and tribalism of today’s Wear-Tyne derby at the Stadium of Light. In his reticent way, Malbranque has already made some noise at Sunderland; his was a signing with oomph.

The 28-year-old shuns the bling of El-Hadji Diouf and Djibril Cissé and did not command a club-record transfer fee, but among the football cognoscenti, he is regarded as a player’s player. Sunderland have not often trumped rival clubs in the transfer market, but they pipped Aston Villa to Malbranque’s signature. Even now, Tottenham Hotspur are pining for him, perhaps as much as for their departed strikers.

“I think his signing made a bit of a statement about the club,” Keane told The Times. “And maybe it’s different from bringing in a defender or goalkeeper. A lot of people were surprised that we pulled it off. One or two people I know, friends of mine, straight away they were on the phone saying ‘he’s a good player’. Because they’ve seen him playing a lot of games for a big club like Spurs.”

Malbranque made 48 appearances for Tottenham last season and the manner of his departure hints at the discord at White Hart Lane. “I was surprised when they told me a fee was agreed with Sunderland, because they had said to me two weeks before ‘we don’t want to sell you’,” he said. “So that was a big shock for me. But when you know a club is trying to sell you, you don’t think about them in the same way.

“I still don’t know why they changed their mind. They never told me. Leaving was not easy, but I liked the way Roy Keane talked to me. It was a new challenge and I wanted to be part of it. We don’t know where this journey at Sunderland will end — it is still the beginning — but sometimes you have to challenge yourself, start again. If the gamble works, it could be very special.” The words were spoken with a smile and a whisper.

Interviews with Malbranque are rare — “I don’t want to be a player who talks a lot in the newspapers and does nothing on the pitch,” he said, but his shyness is not restricted to the media. “He’s very quiet, but quiet lads who can’t play would be the ones I’d worry about,” Keane said, although the Irishman recognises an intriguing examination of his ability.

“It’s a different challenge as a manager,” he said. “A lot has been made of the fact that we’ve supposedly brought in big personalities to the club, but the test for me is dealing with these different characters. A few people mentioned to me before he signed that Steed is a quiet lad, but the dressing-room will have different characters like that. There’ll be times when he needs something different from me.

“Some people are loud, always cracking jokes — for some it detracts from their lack of quality. Steed is very much the kind of man who keeps himself to himself, but I’ve seen him have a bit of banter as well. Paul Scholes at Manchester United was another lad who was fairly quiet, but he’s always done his talking through his football. Steed is quietly confident. I like that.”

Malbranque has found a house, his two young daughters are with him and he feels “settled and happy”. The reaction of supporters has been overwhelming. “Sometimes it’s impossible to switch off from football,” he said. “When I go to the supermarket, it’s very difficult to get my shopping done, but it’s a positive thing,” he said.

This lunchtime, the volume will be set at high.