please log in to view this image y Chris Young Published on Tuesday 1 May 2012 09:23 STEPHANE Sessegnon insists he has unfinished business at Sunderland despite continued speculation over his future. Sessegnonâs pivotal contribution to Sunderlandâs cause this season has not gone unnoticed with the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and his former club Paris St Germain all linked to the Benin international. The transfer talk, fuelled by Sessegnon being apart from his Paris-based wife and five children, has persisted for several months despite the player publicly shrugging off the rumours prior to the January window. Black Cats boss Martin OâNeill has declared his determination to keep Sessegnon at the Stadium of Light, with another two years still to run on the 27-year-oldâs Sunderland contract. And joint top scorer Sessegnon is not encouraging talk of a summer exit either â insisting he still has work to do at Sunderland after taking his time to adapt to the Premier League following his £6million arrival 18 months ago. Sessegnon told the Echo: âIâve got no problem with life here and itâs always good news to hear that the manager wants to keep you. âIâm aware of the speculation, but I canât do anything about it. âAs Iâve said before, I donât feel that my work here is finished. âItâs true that when I first came here, it was hard to get used to the style of play. But now I like the Premiership and I think I have improved. Iâm playing for a team who like to play football, with great fans.â Sessegnon has been the star attraction of Sunderlandâs season, but he believes his fortunes have reflected the teamâs after finding his very best form following Decemberâs arrival of OâNeill. âThe season has gone okay for me and itâs probably mirrored whatâs happened for the team,â he added. âAt the start of the season, we had difficulties and were probably only playing at around 80 or 90 per cent. âBut after the change of manager, we began to play much more encouragingly. âThe manager has brought out the best in us and there have been lots of positives as a group over the last few months where weâve been able to show our quality. âWeâve played really well as a team, which has made it easier for me to play with a bit of freedom. Itâs always nice to get praise though and Iâm pleased with how the season has gone for me.â
We need to keep Sess no matter what is offered and built a team around the lad. The most creative and exciting player I have seen in a Sunderland shirt and we need to add players to the side like him not get rid of him. Best player at the club by a mile IMO
I agree we need to keep Sess and, from the sounds of it, MON and Short won't have to do too much to make sure that happens. However I do remember Johnston and Summerbee, with Don Hutchinson, being a pretty exciting creative force. Shame it all fell apart and I just hope that MON can do better and build on the good base we have. I think this summer is going to be agony for us fans though.
Sess on the left or the right or up front alone, was a waste (Bruce). Sess in a free role supporting a front man is dynamite (MON, after a week at the club). It's not rocket science after all. As the late great Brian Clough would have said: ' Football is a simple game'. Play people in their best positions and build your team around your best players. I am no football manager but that works in every walk of life.
He's ****e - we should get rid of him according to the lads that sit behind me!! (Seriously - They said we should sell him in the summer!)
I think we should keep hold of him However if the club was to be offered something in excess of £20mil unfortunately he is going to be sold, however! with that money it might be possible to sign a couple of players that although aren't as skilful as Lionel Sessi could be creative Aidan McGeady for one, could get him relatively cheaply if you ask me and would be a brilliant player Im sure there would be another creative midfielder available However from that money i would argue 2 strikers is the main priority
He was full of smiles last night and took alot of time with the fans. Seemed like a genuinely nice chap. We should be doing all we can to make his personal life as comfortable as possible. Id love him to stay but if a big enough offer comes in he'll be off
There might be a bit of truth in that. but heartening news from Sess. Dont want him to go, and I think all the 606ers on our board think the same.
They've got to say the right things and it doesn't mean they'll stay. I don't think anyone would read that and be naive enough to think "he's defo staying". In the main of course the likes of Newcastle/Sunderland are just feeder clubs for the big guns. However there'll always be exceptions to the rule, and sometimes players just want to enjoy their football. Most outside of Newcastle/Sunderland seem to have written off the likes of Tiote, Ben Arfa, Krul, Ba, Sessegnon as certain to go in the summer. I think its more likely they'll rock up where they played their football this season given they've enjoyed it.
Im not ganna hold my breathe in all honesty, especially the way footballers are. I would hate to see him leave as he is by far the most skillful player ive ever seen in a red n white shirt. If he is still a sunderland player come when the summer transfer window shuts then ill will be then happy about this.
If he does go we'll get a very decent price for him - it's true that everything has it's price, especially the PL and if we get a Hendo/Carroline/Fernanado type bid, he may still go. Agents can make serious money too on these kind of deals as well as the personal wages, so he'll be under speculation and pressure, as with Ba Ba, Ben and Tiote with them up the road
Sess, Colback and McClean. We need to build our team around these guys. They're a class above and all seem like genuinely canny lads.
Unfortunately I dont believe a word footballers say. Both Gyan and Bent kissed the badge and gave countless interviews about how thye loved it here and how they wanted to make a name blah! blah! blah! No sooner had they said it they buggered off quicker than Muslim cleric claims social security.
