Di Fanti confirms Borini’s Milan move, Oviedo discusses his Sunderland future, Djilobodji gets international call and friendly is announced. By Andy Tomlinson May 16th, 2018, 7:00am BSTSHARE please log in to view this image Your daily reminder of Sunderland news! Borini set for Milan stay Fabio Borini had recently been linked with a move to Juventus after a relatively successful spell on loan with AC Milan, but Roberto Di Fanti - who is now the former Liverpool forward’s agent - scuppered those rumours in an interview with calciomercato.com and says that the striker will stay at Milan for as long as they want him. I believe that the club are very happy with what Fabio has done this season. We feel the confidence from everyone. He has been a great signing for Mirabelli. I think he will be a Milan player for a long time to come. Juventus? I think that such an adaptable player would be tempting for many clubs. After all, he has played for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma – quality teams. The plan is to stay at Milan, as long as the club want him to remain. Although only at Milan until the end of the season, Di Fanti has confirmed that the Italian international’s switch to the San Siro will become permanent on July 1st, with Borini signing a deal which will keep him at the club until 2021. Yes, from the first of July it will be a player owned by the Rossoneri until 2021. please log in to view this image Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images Oviedo talks Sunderland future After just being called up to the Costa Rica squad for the forthcoming 2018 World Cup, Bryan Oviedo has given an interview to Costa Rican outlet El Mundo where he talks about his Sunderland future. In the interview, Oviedo made it clear that he has two years remaining on his current contract and will do whatever is best for the club, but he hopes that he will get opportunities if he plays well in Russia: I have two years of contract with Sunderland, they are my employers and I adapt to what they want. It only remains to wait, and I hope that it is the best for both them and me. Sunderland is a great club, and I have always been very happy there. Unfortunately, for the last two years we have been a bit bad, but hey, I hope that it changes with the new leadership. For the moment I’m still there, I have to wait. I hope in God to play in the World Cup, do it in the best way and see what happens, and the opportunities will come. Speaking about the World Cup, the 28-year-old is desperate to impress after missing the last tournament due to a double leg break in an FA Cup tie when an Everton player, at Stevenage: It’s something that I’ve been waiting for for many years again, because in the last World Cup I had the misfortune of missing out. Now I have a great opportunity to be among the 23 called, and it is very important for me and for my family. I will work hard, give the best of me, making the best effort to reach the World Cup 100%. I would love to stand out in the World Cup, to be able to help the National Team a lot and be one of the best players. For me that is a goal and I will do my best to make it happen. It is something that fills me with hope and I hope in God to be able to fulfill this goal that is to play in a World Cup and to be able to help the National Team to achieve even better things than those achieved in Brazil. please log in to view this image Djilobodji receives call up Papy Djilobodji has joined Bryan Oviedo and Wahbi Khazri in hoping for a World Cup appearance after the on-loan Dijon defender was called up by Senegal for a 35-man preliminary squad. Djilobodji, who has 12 caps for Senegal, had been in the international wilderness for a while due to a fallout with head coach Aliou Cisse, but they appear to have made up and Papy will be hopeful of being named in the final 23-man squad after starting Senegal’s last two friendlies. please log in to view this image Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images Whitley Bay friendly announced Whitley Bay have announced the first Sunderland game of pre-season. The fixture, which will take place at Hillheads on Saturday July 14th, is likely to feature the Sunderland under-23 team rather than the first team, but could well be the first game of the Stewart Donald era.
I can't picture what Bod playing well would look like. I can only assume that he's had a leg transplant.
He wanted away at the end of last Season as well. No takers though. If he wants to make sure this time, a good World Cup might do it. I suggest that his performances for us might not.
I reckon he's one of those players that never quite cut it for us but would look a hell of a lot better in a competent side with less pressure in defence and teammates who know what they're doing. Won't be sorry to see him leave though, especially if one of our young LBs can step up.
Fabio Borini will complete his permanent move to AC Milan on July 1st.The Sunderland forward joined the Serie A giants on a loan deal last summer, with an obligation to buy this summer. The terms of the deal meant that the permanent move was effectively triggered within a few games of his AC Milan career, and his agent has confirmed that he will officially become a Milan player on July 1st. The deal is understood to be around the £5million mark. Borini's agent is Roberto de Fanti, Sunderland’s former director of football. The Italian forward scored four times in 41 appearances last season for Milan, though he was often deployed in a wing-back role, and his form led to him being linked with a move to Juventus. De Fanti told the Italian media: "Yes, from the first of July he will be a player owned by the Rossoneri club until 2021. "I would say that Borini has had a positive season, given that there were low expectations when he arrived. He has proven to be worthy of Milan. "Fabio is an exemplary professional and never seeks controversy, despite being played in several different roles across the pitch. "He has worked very hard to be an important player for the club. "He has never had any problems with Montella or Gattuso, adapting to their different tactical systems and philosophies. Clearly, Gattuso has switched from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3, which allowed him to return to an attacking position. "I believe that the club are very happy with what Fabio has done this season. We feel the confidence from everyone. He has been a great signing. I think that he will be a Milan player for a long time to come. "Juventus? I think that such an adaptable player would be tempting for many clubs. After all, he has played for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma – quality teams. The plan is to stay at Milan, as long as the club want him to remain." Jeremain Lens' £6million summer move to Besiktas has already been confirmed after the Turkish giants exercised their option to sign the winger. Lens has been on loan since last summer, and the deal included an option for them to sign the Dutch winger permanently, an option that had to be exercised by the start of March. Besiktas paid £6million, which includes the €1.5m loan fee that Besiktas paid last summer. He will officially join Besiktas on June 1st.
So, that makes £9.5mil from players that we have just about forgotten. That should help to pay some of the transfer fees that we have on the 'outstanding' list.
But we can't command millions for our players now we've been relegated apparently so we should panic sell our most valuable asset apparently. Lens will become the 5th all time most expensive transfer in league one while borini will become the 7th al time most expensive. Can't beleive some people would cash in on Khazri now with multiple intrested parties and a World cup to play. Plenty of money to be made on him yet. It's also 11m we've made too on paper, lens actually cost them 6m(though 1.5m came early), borini 5m.
I think the main difference for me, if the rumours of debt free etc are correct, then unlike most clubs in Division 3 we don’t need to sell ( though it’s clearly in our interest too ) so we are in a very strong negotiating position imho. A good/ decent World Cup could see us with an unusual windfall, fingers crossed
What any Club in SAFC's position can definitely not afford, is players on wages that far outstrip the club's ability to pay. No doubt the three mentioned come into that category. One Rodwell is one too many. Lens and Borini were 'planned' transfers in that the options were in their loan agreements. Khazri though is different. If he has a stinker of a World Cup there will still be a queue of clubs after him after seeing what he did last season. A good World cup, on the other hand will push the bidding war upwards. So, unless the cashflow is already in a critical mess, (unlikely even for SAFC), I don't see the need to rush in unless a super offer is on the table. This raises the point of how much would we expect for Khazri?
