It's been a relatively quiet week where incoming rumours have been concerned, with only three new additions to our ongoing list of transfer rumours. Julian Speroni (Crystal Palace) Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik (Stade Rennais) Santiago Vergini (Estudiantes) Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina) Caner Erkin (Fenerbache) Gordan Bunoza (Wisla Krakow) Will Buckley (Brighton) Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa) Raul Meireles (Fenerbache) Matt Grimes (Exeter) Josh McEachran (Chelsea) Diego Capel (Sporting Lisbon) Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff) Fabio Borini (Liverpool) Martin Kelly (Liverpool Moussa Sow (Fenerbahce) Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon) Those three new names have taken our running total to a meagre 17. Normally you'd expect quite a few more names to be added but it seems as if this week has been entirely focused on deciding who stays and who goes from the current squad, before the club get their teeth stuck into the transfer market. Before we get to the outgoings, we will take a look at the three new names, Moussa Sow, Bafetimbi Gomis and Martin Kelly. The two strikers Sunderland have been linked with this week, Sow and Gomis, are undoubtedly good strikers with goalscoring pedigrees, however it seems unlikely that either will be appearing in the red and white stripes of Sunderland next season. Despite our struggles last season, a striker does not seem to be a priority position. With Connor Wickham finally show what he is capable of, Jozy Altidore expected to return to the club after the World Cup, Steven Fletcher returning from injury, Danny Graham returning from a loan spell at Middlesbrough and Ignacio Scocco reported to be given pre-season, at the very least, to show what he is capable of, for the time being (and until after any potential departures) it looks unlikely that we'll see any incoming first team strikers. Sow has long been linked with Sunderland but with the player's price tag rumoured to be £10m+ and his wages rumored to be around £52,000 per week, that should rule the Senegalese striker out of a move to the Stadium of Light. Gomis has no price tag around his neck due to coming to the end of his contract with Lyon but as he is reportedly asking for a staggering £100,000 per week, that will rule Sunderland out of the running for the French international. The most interesting link of the week is that of Liverpool's Martin Kelly. With Phil Bardsley leaving the club, the Echo have suggested that Kelly is on Sunderland's radar as a possible replacement. According to the report, Liverpool would prefer to sell the 24-year-old, while Sunderland would prefer a loan. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers recently praised Kelly and said he should get more games next year but with Kelly only featuring 15 times in the last two seasons under Rodgers and Glen Johnson standing in his way, it wouldn't be a surprise if he sought a move, whether temporary or permanent, in search of first team football. Before the right back was beset by an anterior cruciate ligament injury, he was looking very promising and had made his senior England debut, so if the potential move happens and he has fully recovered from his injury nightmare, it could be a very shrewd move. With potential incomings out of the way, Sunderland released their retained list this week, which confirmed the expected departures of Carlos Cuellar, Andrea Dossena, John Egan, Craig Gardner, Billy Knott, Jordan Laidler, Louis Laing, Alejandro Gorrin, Oscar Ustari, David Vaughan, Jordan Watson and Keiren Westwood. From the released players, Gardner, Gorrin and Vaughan have already agreed deals to sign for a new club, West Brom, Wellington Phoenix and Nottingham Forest respectively. Cuellar has recently been linked with Crystal Palace, Dossena has been bizarrely linked with a move to AC Milan, Lazio are interested in Ustari and Blackburn are believed to be tracking Westwood. Although Bardsley, Jack Colback and Seb Larsson are also out of contract, they were officially on the retained list as they were subject of new contract offers from Sunderland, as were youngsters Joel Dixon, Scott Harrison and George Honeyman. Bardsley rejected Sunderland's offer of a new contract and joined Stoke City earlier this week on a three-year deal. The right back had been Sunderland's longest player and admitted the decision to leave the club was a tough one; It was tough to leave Sunderland. I had a wonderful six-and-a-half years there. I feel the time has come for me to take on a fresh challenge in my career and the opportunity to come to Stoke is brilliant for me and as soon as I heard of their interest it was the only place I wanted to come. Meanwhile, both Colback and Larsson have been the subject of strong interest from West Ham United, with recent reports making the London club favourites to sign Colback and Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet claiming West Ham have made Larsson a long term contract offer. Modibo Diakite and Cabral both returned from loan spells in Italy but while it looks like Genoa won't take up the option to sign Cabral, Fiorentina may be persuaded to make the French defenders move permanent in part-exchange with the popular Marcos Alonso, who spent this week teasing Sunderland fans with his retweets. Emanuele Giaccherini signalled his desire to stay at the club this week, telling an Italian website that his intention is to remain in the Premier League with Sunderland. While the Italian may be staying on Wearside, another popular figure, Alfred N'Diaye, is likely to be departing in the near future. Despite Real Betis' option to buy N'Diaye recently expiring, their city rivals Sevilla appear ready to grant 'Big Alf' his wish to stay in Spain. Sunderland may face competition for the signing of Santiago Vergini. The Argentine defender, who spent the second half of the season on loan at the club, is attracting interest from French giants Marseille. Marcelo Bielsa, who recently took over at the French club, has reportedly added Vergini to his list of targets ahead of next season, which should increase Sunderland's urgency to take up their option to purchase the defender. Finally, two players linked with a move away from the club look to be staying at Sunderland for the coming season. Nacho Scocco has been linked with a move away from the club, with Boca Juniors, Newell's Old Boys and Olympiakos all linked but it looks as if the Argentine striker will get the chance to prove his worth in pre-season and possibly beyond. Mavrias is another player who looks to get a second chance, with the Greek youngster wanting to show his potential at Sunderland, it looks as if he will get that chance, even if he may have to go out on loan to gain experience in England first.
Southend United boss Phil Brown hopes to keep hold of Sunderland defender John Egan. Egan, released by Sunderland last week, joined Southend on loan in February and made 15 appearances for the Shrimpers as they reached the League Two play-offs. Liverpool defender Jakub Sokolik is also a confirmed target for Brown: “We’ve put a marker down with both John and Jakub and made reference to the fact that we would very much like them to stay but I’m sure they could have a few offers."
Sunderland are favourites to sign Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni. Speroni had a splended season at Selhurst Park but his current contract has ran out and he can join whatever club he like, but an option is also to stay at Palace.
West Ham have agreed terms with Argentine striker Mauro Zarate, Sky sources understand. Sky Sports revealed earlier this week that the Hammers were in talks with the 27-year-old former Birmingham front-man. Now West Ham have won the race for his signature, with the player expected in England in the next 48 hours. Sky Sports understand that Zarate has agreed a three-year deal to move to Upton Park. Zarate returned to Velez Sarsfield from Lazio last year and has just finished the Argentine season as top-scorer. A source told Sky Sports: "Mauro is very excited about a move to England, he enjoyed his spell last time with Birmingham and is ready to play in the Premier League again."
Sunderland are leading the chase to bring Michael Mancienne back to England. Mancienne, 26, wants to head home after a three-year stint in Germany with Hamburg. And the Black Cats are the front-runners ahead of Stoke, Swansea, QPR and Championship-bound Fulham to seal a bargain £1million deal. Sunderland’s sporting director Lee Congerton plans on being reunited with Mancienne and has recommended the versatile defender to boss Gus Poyet. The pair worked together with Chelsea’s youth team before Mancienne moved to Hamburg. Sunderland are chasing new defenders after Phil Bardsley joined Stoke and Carlos Cuellar, Mo Diakite and Valentin Roberge were axed. With just 12 months left on his contract, Mancienne can leave for a knockdown fee. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...ender-michael-mancienne-3607422#ixzz32li3rvY6 Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook
Sunderland are at the front of a long queue that is piling up to sign Hamburg defender Michael Mancienne, who is thought to be ready to return to England after a three-year spell in the German Bundesliga. The former England under-21 international moved from Chelsea to Hamburg back in 2011, but has never really asserted himself in the first team there. Despite having one year left on his contract with the club that narrowly avoided relegation from the German top flight this season, Mancienne is now seeking a way back to the Premier League. Sunderland are the frontrunners for the 26-year-old, according to the Daily Mirror, with Gus Poyet keen to reinforce his ranks after seeing four defenders leave the Stadium of Light on a free transfer this week. Mancienne, who is adept across the defence and as a defensive midfielder, is also wanted by newly promoted Queens Park Rangers, whom he spent two seasons on loan from Chelsea in 2006. The likes of Stoke City, Fulham and Swansea City are also in the hunt for the defender, but it is the Black Cats who are ready to offer Hamburg £1m for the services of Mancienne as soon as the transfer window re-opens.
Stephen Ward is edging closer to Wolves exit Stephen Ward's exit from Wolves today moved a step closer after it emerged he has contract offers from Brighton and Middlesbrough. The Seagulls and Boro are the first clubs to make contact to indicate they are prepared to sign the 28-year-old left-back on a permanent basis. But Premier League duo Burnley and Sunderland also have him on their radar and are waiting in the wings if a move to the south coast or Teesside falls through. The next step is a meeting between Ward’s representative and Wolves which is expected to come shortly to thrash out the Ireland international’s ‘exit strategy’. But the indications are all parties want a quick resolution. Ward has a year left on his £12,000-a-week contract which Brighton paid all of last season as he made 44 Championship appearances, scoring four goals and helping them to the play-off semi-finals, where they were beaten by Derby 6-2 on aggregate. His consistency and success at the Amex Stadium means there may be some negotiating to be done over the fee. Either way, Brighton would appear to be in the driving seat, although Ward may want reassuring over his place after manager Oscar Garcia walked out at the end of the season. Boro currently have former Wolves man George Friend at left-back, but they have no cover for the one-time Exeter defender, who has a year left on his contract. Ward has made 239 appearances for Wolves since his bargain signing for £100,000 in January 2007.
Seb Larsson says his future is undecided and could still stay at Sunderland. As Gus Poyet looks to keep Seb Larsson at Sunderland despite his contract expiring in the near future, the midfielder says that is still a possibility even though his future is currently unclear. Speaking ahead of Sweden's international games with Denmark and Belgium, Larsson says he knew his future would be still up in the air six months ago; There is nothing clear and so it is always. I've been in this situation before, even if it may not be as much of the player market as before. I've known about this for half a year and I have been pretty quiet. I'm still pretty quiet in there. Then if you want something done relatively soon, something that you are happy with. Then we'll see if that happens. The midfielder, who turns 29 in a couple of weeks, says he has enjoyed his time at Sunderland and is keeping the door open on staying at the club, even if he has not currently signed a new deal; I've never closed the door. It depends on what the conversations provide, what the club want and I want. We've had a turbulent two years, but purely socially and in terms of football it has been a good place to be even though it's been up and down. But that does not mean I have signed for them. After being linked with a host of foreign clubs, including Napoli, Lazio, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, Larsson says he's more open to a move abroad than he ever has been before; I'm pretty open. More open than I have been previously in his career. While I have been in England a long time and I feel incredibly good in England. We thrive socially and in terms of football. I will say it again. Overall, it is the best and most exciting league in the world, I think. Thinking about leaving if there is a chance to stay would be pretty difficult. But I'm still open. We look at the options available and will pick out the one that feels best. With his contract due to expire in a little over a month, Larsson's desire to stay in the Premier League may give Sunderland hope, even though West Ham's reported contract offer may make the London club favourites for his signature when you consider the wage increase usually on offer to Bosman free transfers.
Dont like the overall tone. I realise they're almost all like this but if he's keeping all options on the table, then let him go. There are just as good, if not better, players out there. I want someone already with the club, and who the club wants, to want the club back, not hold out on how negotiations play out.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...m-race-sign-Lyon-striker-Bafetimbi-Gomis.html Do they think all the pictures disguise their 7 lines of fiction?
Wouldnt be a transfer window if nobody was linked with him Honestly wonder who even buys the daily fail anymore
River Plate want Scocco... http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/-1-6638277? SOUTH American giants River Plate are looking to make an offer for Sunderland striker Nacho Scocco. Argentina’s most successful side has joined a queue of clubs from the country interested in taking the 28-year-old back across the Atlantic. And River are one of the few clubs in South American, who can hope to match the wages the striker is on in England, and make an acceptable transfer offer too. Scocco only joined the Black Cats in January when he became a £3m buy from Brazilian outfit Internacional, and his time in England has been far from auspicious so far. The forward looked decidedly off the pace in his opening few months at the Stadium of Light, having joined in South America’s close season, and he failed to score in any of his eight appearances. And that failure to have an immediate impact has alerted clubs in Argentina, who are queuing up in case Sunderland are thinking of offloading him. River are the latest club to place Scocco on their list of targets according to reports from Buenos Aires with Boca Juniors and Newell’s Old Boys also linked with him. Sunderland however remain in the driving seat with Scocco having signed a two-and-a-half year in January. As well as Sunderland’s desire to keep him, the frontman is also keen to make a success of his stay in the Premier League. And head coach Gus Poyet’s belief is that Sunderland will not see what he is really capable of until he begins a season on level fitness terms with his team-mates. Poyet told the Gazette shortly before the end of the season: “We are all different, and how we adapt is different. “It depends on the situation they come into. “If you put them into a team that is playing well, it takes them two seconds to adapt. But when a player comes from abroad, and they join a side that is having a bad time, then it takes a lot longer. “I had hoped Scocco would adapt more quickly, but I’m really looking forward to seeing him in pre-season. “I don’t think we can really judge him until then, and when he has a full pre-season behind him we might really see the best of him.” Poyet will know now though, that if he changes his mind, and decides to cut his losses on the striker, he will have no shortage of clubs willing to make a bid for a player whose reputation still remains high in Argentina. The Uruguayan currently has four strikers to pick from for next season – Scocco, Scottish international Steven Fletcher, who should be fit for the start of next season, American Jozy Altidore, and England Under-21 man Connor Wickham. Danny Graham is also on the club’s books, but the Teessider is set for another season on loan if Sunderland cannot offload him permanently. Of the quartet of frontman available, Wickham is the only one who is seen as untouchable by Sunderland, who are already preparing a new and improved deal for the a player who is about to move into the last year of his contract with the Wearsiders.
Larsson wants to stay... Seb Larsson has indicated that he is keen to re-sign for Sunderland – if the club can meet his demands. The Black Cats re-opened talks with the Sweden winger in the final weeks of the season after previously indicating that they would let him leave in the summer. And a first round of talks between the midfielder and the club have been productive, with Larsson now hinting that he wants to stay in England and that Sunderland are his preferred option. The Journal understands that he is seeking reassurances about the place he will have in Gus Poyet’s plans, with Larsson desperate not to have to endure long spells on the bench next season. West Ham have already made him a contract offer and Steve Bruce’s Hull City are understood to be interested in signing the winger. But speaking while on international duty, Larsson has hinted that he wants to stay in “good place” Sunderland. “I’ve never closed the door. It depends on what the conversations provide, what the club want and I want,” he said. “We’ve had a turbulent two years, but purely socially and in terms of football it has been a good place to be even though it’s been up and down. But that does not mean I have signed for them.” There has been talk about a move overseas with Borussia Monchengladbach understood to have registered interest in Larsson, but he says that he would prefer to stay in the Premier League. Larsson has spent most of his professional career in the Premier League and is one of Sunderland’s longest-serving players. He said: “While I have been in England a long time and I feel incredibly good in England. We thrive socially and in terms of football. I will say it again. Overall, it is the best and most exciting league in the world, I think. “Thinking about leaving if there is a chance to stay would be pretty difficult. But I’m still open. We look at the options available and will pick out the one that feels best.” Meanwhile, Emanuele Giaccherini’s agent Furio Valcareggi insists that his client will definitely be staying at the Stadium of Light next term. The Black Cats signed the Italian last summer on a lucrative deal as part of the Paolo Di Canio “revolution” but he found it difficult in his first season on Wearside – only breaking into Gus Poyet’s plans in the latter stages of the campaign. But the player’s representative says that Giaccherini intends to stay at Sunderland and is desperate to spend another three years at the club. He said: “If Sunderland were relegated it was obvious that the contract was expensive and we might have had to look at it, but now that the club is safe and in the Premier League, we remain there. There is not a problem with Poyet. “Emanuele is happy. If he felt otherwise he would have stayed at Juventus. Juve had asked us if we wanted to go or stay, we talked to Conte and with great regret we gave the OK to leave and also to realize an economic dream for him because Emanuele has made a very good contract with Sunderland.” http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/f...seb-larsson-hints-staying-sunderland-7174256?
Linked with the big guy. COSTEL PANTILIMON has emerged as one of Gustavo Poyet’s preferred candidates to fill the goalkeeping hole in the Sunderland squad this summer. Poyet is looking at options to compete with Vito Mannone and the promising Jordan Pickford between the posts next season and Crystal Palace’s Julian Speroni and Pantilimon are two of his likeliest signings. Both are to become free agents at Palace and Manchester City respectively on July 1 and Sunderland hope to have one of those tied down in advance. Argentine Speroni, 35, would appear to be in pole position at this stage because of his strong friendship with Poyet. The pair have known each other for a number of years having struck up a bond when Poyet lived in London, where he played for Tottenham and Chelsea, and Speroni moved to the capital in 2004. It was something of a surprise when he was not on the retained list revealed by Tony Pulis last week, with the Palace boss looking to bring in a new keeper for his first full season in charge at Selhurst Park. Speroni, who has been the Eagles’ No 1 for a number of years, would not be entirely satisfied with starting the campaign as understudy to Mannone, but he might be happier than Pantilimon to start there. City’s second choice shot-stopper has not been offered new terms at this stage, while Richard Wright has because he fulfils homegrown criteria to sit on the bench. And Pantilimon, 27, is keen to become a number one somewhere after spending the last few years as understudy to England’s Joe Hart at the Etihad Stadium. The Romanian played when Manchester City defeated Sunderland at Wembley in the Capital One Cup in March. He made just seven Premier League appearances for the champions. Pantilimon has not been offered a new deal by Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini, along with Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry. There was talk of him leaving in January but nothing materialised. Poyet - who needs a new keeper after Oscar Ustari's decision to leave after six months - is pursuing players in a variety of roles and he wants progress. Sporting director Lee Congerton’s links to Hamburg have raised the possibly of defender Michael Mancienne arriving. The former Chelsea youngster’s form in the Bundesliga has gone up and down but Congerton, who took him away from Stamford Bridge, is believed to be interested in a deal. Sunderland will have a significant difference in look to their squad next season, with Poyet keen to make improvements to a pool of players he inherited from Paolo Di Canio last October. Di Canio, working alongside former director of football Roberto De Fanti, brought in a 14 new players last summer and many failed to impress. A number of them have already been moved on. But Di Canio has not allowed his Sunderland experience to put him off management, despite lasting just six months at the Stadium of Light – and he is interested in taking over at Celtic following Neil Lennon’s decision to try something new. DI Canio joined Celtic from AC Milan in 1996 and was Scottish PFA player of the year in his first season at Parkhead.
