DERRY City boss Stephen Kenny today revealed how Sunderland were late entrants in the race to sign James McClean. The Black Cats are set to wrap up a £350,000 deal for Irish winger McClean after the 22-year-old underwent a medical on Wearside last night. McClean has become one of the most promising players in the Irish League and it has not gone unnoticed with the likes of Everton and Wigan keeping tabs on the left-footed wideman after moves to Portsmouth and Peterborough fell through. But Sunderlandâs interest didnât become known until chief scout Pop Robson watched McClean in action for a League of Ireland XI against Manchester City in a pre-season friendly two weeks ago. Kenny told the Echo: âSunderland were a surprise because a couple of clubs had been watching him regularly. âSeveral clubs were stunned when they turned up to scout our game with Galway on Friday and learned he was having a medical at Sunderland on Monday. âSunderland had seen him playing against Manchester City in the Super Cup and it has gone on from there.â Derry have enjoyed notable success in their development of youngsters - Wigan striker Conor Sammon, Millwall keeper David Forde and Celtic winger Paddy McCourt all products of the clubâs academy. Kenny believes McClean is the best of the lot and insists the midfielder will believe he can force his way into the first-team picture at the Stadium of Light. The former Dunfermline boss said: âHe will want to be playing in the first-team. That wonât be easy because it is a big step up. âBut Sunderland havenât got a lot of left-sided players so in that respect, his timing is good. âOf all the players we have had over the last few years, James McClean has the best attitude of anybody. âHe wants to be a player and is always on the training ground. He loves his football and just loves the game. âHe hired his own personal trainer in the off-season which is something considering the players over here are not earning great money.â Kenny added: âAt 15-16 a lot of players at his school were capped by Northern Ireland or the Republic but he wasnât among them. âHe didnât catch the eye then, but heâs improved every year and heâs become the stand-out player in the country this season. âHe is a tremendous athlete first and foremost, very mobile and covers the ground very quickly. âHe is quite direct on the left wing and gets his crosses into the box.âEveryone is delighted for him, even though it will hurt us and our chances of qualifying for the Champions League. âWe went into administration a couple of years ago but now we are level at the top of the Irish Premier. âThe transfer deadline has passed so we have lost our best player and we canât replace him. âBut personally, I am thrilled for him because it couldnât happen to a better person. âHe is a joy to work with and Iâm sure Sunderland will help him develop Some interesting little snipits in there, Will be be part of the squad, or put in the reserves or loaned out for development?
But McClean falls into the same category as 19-year-old winger Roarie Deacon, who arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal this summer, with both earmarked to continue their development in Sunderland’s reserves.
if this lad really does have potential (if pop robson gives him thumbs up good enough for me) then why don't we keep him with us this year and slowly introducing him into the 1st team squad via cup games and 10-15 mins here and there. working alongside quality players can only bring this lad on !! our squad at the moment (fingers crossed we are close to getting someone in as we speak) is totally depleted of pacy left footed players and can only be helped with strength in depth. just my humble opinion i may add
I would keep him and see how it goes on the training ground - if he is as good as is suggested he`ll make his own case
David Healy was interviewed on SSN yesterday. NI arent happy with the lad after he was called up he did a runner & is considering switching to ROI. Can understand both sides really, would rather play for ROI but he has messed them about & could have let know & he has took up a space in the national team. i watched the tournament on SS recently but didnt see much of the Ireland 11 team, was he any good?
If he's good enough, then get him in there...We are not exactly blessed with natural left-sided players, and you just never know when the next gem is going to turn up.
Well it seems official Sunderland have signed promising left winger James McClean from Derry City for an initial £350,000 fee. "James is an outstanding young talent and has rightly attracted interest from a number of clubs over the summer so we're very pleased that he sees his future at Sunderland." Steve Bruce Quotes of the week The 22-year-old attracted interest from a number of clubs - including Wigan and Peterborough - but has signed for the Black Cats until the summer of 2014. The winger, who recently pledged his international future to the Republic of Ireland after representing Northern Ireland at Under-21 level, joins after netting 18 goals in 73 appearances for his hometown club. He is Steve Bruce's 10th summer signing and the Sunderland boss is looking for the youngster to push on. Outstanding talent Bruce told the club's official website: "James is an outstanding young talent and has rightly attracted interest from a number of clubs over the summer so we're very pleased that he sees his future at Sunderland. "I'm delighted with what we've been able to do over the summer. "We've the makings of a very good squad and James will now have every chance to come here and make that next step in his career." McClean's switch comes after Championship side Posh struck a deal with City for the winger, but he could not agree personal terms.
I'm a Derry city fan so I've seen a lot of James and he is one of the best players I've seen in the LOI for a while. He is quick, strong and puts in a great cross. This guy is as good as any of the likes of Doyle, long, McCourt and Coleman where when they played in ireland. This guy has the potential to be top class, good signing for your team big loss for mine we will find it impossible to replace him.
He is, he regularly beats men in this league. Whether he can do it in the prem though is a different matter it's a huge step up in quality, but I think he could.
