Just been reading this about bruce, and noticed his reference to the bosmans. Wonder who he is refering too? Steve Bruce is expecting to be 'extremely busy this summer' as he prepares to start his recruitment drive. The Sunderland boss has made it clear that he will be adding to his squad during the upcoming transfer window and plans to start making moves as soon as possible. He has already met with chairman Niall Quinn to discuss a plan of action and has indentified a series of Bosman free signings to get the ball rolling. Bruce told The Journal: "I had a meeting yesterday morning with Niall. It was about the way ahead and which way we are plotting and looking. "I would expect us to be extremely busy this summer. There are a couple of Bosmans out there he now needs to take over. "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to work out where we have to start. It is the top end of the pitch, which is the most expensive." Sunderland have been heavily linked with Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan in recent weeks, and having dismissed suggestions they could be in the market for the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Miroslav Klose, will also target out-of-contract strikers. Indeed, the Black Cats' main concentration for the close-season will be on their front line with loan signing Danny Welbeck set to return to Manchester United and Bruce not confident of landing him on a permanent basis, and Fraizer Campbell facing the best part of a year on the sidelines with a second serious knee injury. Having sold Darren Bent to Aston Villa in January, that has left the manager with only record signing Asamoah Gyan at his disposal. Bruce said: "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to work out where we have to start. It is the top end of the pitch, which is the most expensive. "We have to go in [to next season] with at least four recognised strikers because we have seen what happens if you don't. "We have got one, so we have three more to sign, although having said that, [Stephane] Sessegnon has played well of late and gives us another option
RVN and Klose are way out of our wage bracket range kidda. They wont be happy with a 'paltry' 40k or 50k per week? They will both be closer to the 100k per week bracket and thast too rich for us and I dont want us to pay it to be honest.
I wouldn't want RVN or Klose, it's bollocks if anyone genuinely thinks they would do a job for us, they simply wouldn't. Bosmans there are many... LB - Reto Ziegler. Quick and a great crosser, did ok in the Prem for Spurs as a young lad, and has improved VASTLY at Samdoria. CF - Fredi Kanoute. Target man, great in the air, and a bit of flair. 32, but no silly season wages like the aforementioned 2. Not a Bosman as such, but free to leave. These are the 2 for me.
I guess Bothroyd fits the bill. Free transfer. I would hope we are going for better players but maybe it will be 4 x top players and 4 x the likes of Bothroyd and Vaughan.
Vaughan, Larssen, Bothroyd. Hopefully that leaves ã8m Nzogbia ã6m centre back ã10m striker. Warnock if available. That's 7.
Bothroyd would be useful, but only really as a squad player. As long as we get another proper striker, that should be fine.
SEB Larsson is one of three Bosman signings that Sunderland have set their sights on bringing in over the next few weeks. The Birmingham City midfielder and set-piece specialist is out of contract this summer and the Black Cats will lead the chase for his services once his contract officially expires at the end of June. Although the Swede has been coy about his future since January and diplomatic about whether or not he will extend his stay with the Blues, the fact is he is set to quit St Andrews whether they stay up or not. The 25-year-old originally signed by Bruce for Birmingham, fancies a change of club and a vastly improved contract – his stock in the game having risen considerably since he first moved to City from Arsenal in 2007. Sunderland hope to bring in not only Larsson but also one more Bosman from domestic football and another free transfer from the continent. Should he get the players he wants, Sunderland will already have addressed some of the problems caused by the serious depletion of his squad either by long-term injuries or players returning to their parent clubs after loan spells. Then the club will look at fresh loan deals before considering who might actually be bought in permanently this summer and at what cost. Bruce said: “There’s three Bosmans I’m looking at currently - though I’m not prepared to say just yet who they are. “Clubs get a list of Bosmans before the end of the season and we’ve taken a long hard look at it. “There’s three on the list that I’m keen on, players I’ve known about for some time and I’ve sat down with the chairman Niall Quinn to talk it through. “I’ll leave it in his hands to progress things once their contracts expire and we’ll take it from there. “We’ve got to find value for money in the transfer market this summer and there are a few quality signings you can get, either on a Bosman or on a loan, if you can just source the right player.” Veteran frontmen Ruud van Nistlerooy and Miroslav Klose are not among the out-of-contract players Bruce is considering while Bolton’s Johan Elmander and Cardiff’s Jay Bothroyd, both available on free transfers, are not thought to be included in the trio either. Quinn and Bruce had long discussions about the Bosman list this week and with those players set to become available next month, it will be the Black Cats’ first priority to see whether progress can be made with those signings. For the moment though, Bruce does not know his transfer budget for the close season. “It’s too soon to say right now,” he told the Echo. “At this stage of the season everything’s still up in the air. “As a club we want to do our business as early as possible in the close season and Bosmans are an example of that. But there’s also value in waiting to see what unfolds in the window because there’s always players who become available that even take managers by surprise. “It’s simpler now in the sense that you know the limits of your squad size. “If you can get a quality Bosman or two in then your squad starts to take a bit more shape and you can start planning the other areas of the squad you want to strengthen.”
1 of them from the continent Wonder who that will be someone mentioned Reto Ziegler, if he is available would be a good option IMO
I hope to God its not Owen! I think Bruce would loose all Sunderland fans if we picked him up on a free but Larrson, Vaughan, Bothroyd would all add to our squad and create good competition for places without costing a bomb therefore leaving us with money to burn on 2 quality CFs, Left winger and 2 defenders.
Seb Larrson has to be no1 in my opinion,until we have someone who knows what to do at deadball situations we will not progress;Boothroyd is only a squad player unless he has a good pre season with us . Kanoute would be a good signing and could give us a couple of seasons. A big NO to RVN and Klose-we have better ways of spending money than boosting their pension pots.
