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EXCLUSIVE Steve Bruce interview: How Connor Wickham and co will transform Black Cats next season
Published 23:00 22/07/11 By Simon Bird

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Steve Bruce, the busiest boss in the Premier League transfer scramble, is pointing out the new faces at Sunderland’s German training camp.

It takes some time. He’s spent £25million on eight new players, plus one loan signing turned permanent.

No wonder Bruce speaks of feeling reinvigorated, and ready to build on a top ten finish last season, only their third in 50 years.

The Sunderland boss gave MirrorSport the inside track on another summer of revolution at the Stadium of Light.

He’s spent £8.2 million on teenage talent in Connor Wickham, beating Liverpool to a lad Bruce hopes will carry the flame for the traditional English No9.

Experienced campaigners Wes Brown and John O’Shea, multiple league winners medals between them, add guile, to what was last season the youngest team in the league.

Bargains like free transfers Seb Larsson to improve set pieces, and the busy David Vaughan from Blackpool. Goals from midfield hopefully added by Craig Gardner. Even a new keeper, Ireland stopper Keiron Westwood, a sparky character.

“There’s nothing better than a few new faces. It gives everybody a lift and puts them back on their toes. It gives you an excitement to say ‘we’ve bought really well’.

“There are other problems that come with it. When you add eight, it sounds great, but you’ve got to find a formula, find a balance to the team. That’s important.”

Wickham, 18, chose Sunderland above Anfield because he wants to play regularly, and feared a lack of chances.

Especially after experiencing the frustration of life on the bench for England U21s this summer. Bruce reckons he has signed one of the few old style centre forwards around.

Bruce said: “The big thing about Connor is that he’s got fantastic potential. The physique of the boy, especially for a lad of 18, is everything you’d want. He’s got fantastic talent and he’s got great potential.

“It’s vitally important that we don’t expect too much of him too soon. He can excel for us for years to come.

“That old fashioned style British centre-forward is exactly what we’ve been looking for all along and there aren’t that many of them.

“We’ve paid a lot of money - possibly a bit too much - but we’re very very confident in the lad’s ability and he’ll only get better. We needed a focal point, a Peter Crouch type.

“I thought it was important we had an English type centre forward and he fits that bill perfectly. He’ll play games for us.

“Just look at Jordan Henderson - he grabbed me in pre-season two years ago and I only think I left him out once after that.

“Of course there’s a premium on young English talent. They’re rare. And if you can produce them you’re going to get a lot of money for them.”

Bruce’s bonus is conducting pre-season with the majority of signings in place.

He added: “The good thing is that we’ve had them all together. They’re in a camp here but that’s how I wanted it.

“They mix together, get to know each other better and that’s vitally important.

“We had done our homework on Westwood, Larsson and Vaughan very very early. We showed our hand early because they were Bosmans.

“O’Shea has played more than 350 times for Man U - that’s 35 times a season for 10 years. That’s not the record of a bit-part player.

“That was the start of the excitement of the summer for us. I’m delighted we’ve got them.

“The youth of the team sometimes went against us last season when we were up against it. They didn’t have the experience to handle what we were doing.

“We all enjoy a young player and developing them and I thinks we’ve done that very well. But I just thought that, especially defensively, to have a little bit of experience and nous and know-how. No hesitation.”

There is still business to be done too. A left sided star, although at the moment top target Charles N’Zogbia is priced out of a move at £10 million transfer fee and 65k a week wages, but Bruce is patient.

Asamoah Gyan is likely to stay, despite speculation about his future this summer. He’s returning with catching up to do on his fitness, and Bruce says he will be “far better” next season.

On the captaincy issue Bruce moved to clarify suggestions John O’Shea will succeed Cattermole.

“I haven’t even looked at it at all, the captaincy or any issues like that. The big thing for Lee is the serious injuries that that kid has had as well and had to deal with.

“People forget that Lee is 22 as well. I’m not going to announce anything yet.”

Whoever leads the club, Bruce has ensured he has added quality in depth.

Bruce's verdict on his other new recruits
Keiron Westwood - “I couldn’t be in the same position as last year when I was gambling on putting a rookie keeper in when Craig Gordon got injured. Craig has got an injury which will keep him out for the start of the season and I couldn’t be in the same position again.”

Wes Brown - “He has the mentality of a winner. He’s tough, uncompromising, the a really natural defender. If we can get him on the pitch enough, he’ll be a massive hit for us.

John O’Shea - “John has experience to handle the big-game atmosphere that the North East brings."

Craig Gardner - “He got 10 goals last year in a team that got relegated and we needed goals from midfield. If there was an Achilles heel last year, that was it for us. Steed didn’t score, Catts didn’t score, Jordan got a couple.”

David Vaughan - “He’s a footballer, if you know what I mean! Really neat and tidy, good in possession and he’ll give us a bit of balance with his left foot as well. Good player. On a Bosman, i thought he was a certainty.”

Seb Larsson - “We’ve been poor from set pieces and delivery. We’ve never had a natural deliver of the ball. He’s a Swedish international with fantastic quality. You can guarantee his crosses. That’s something we’ve been lacking.”

Ji-Dong Won - “Ji is probably the biggest gamble of the lot because he’s Korean, but he’s 6ft 3in. I saw him play against Turkey and thought ‘that’s different’. For a start, he’s bigger than any other Korean player I’ve seen, he’s got fantastic movement, a great work ethic, a worker, good finisher, and that young age. He’s played 11 or 12 times for his country and scored five or six goals.”

Mohamed Elmohamady - “He impressed on loan. For the fee that was agreed, we felt it was a good piece of business. He’s young. He can only improve. He can play right-back, right-hand of midfield.”

 

Exactly £8.2m he has to be played.

Maybe not, but if you insist on this 4-4-1-1 bollocks, he ain't gonna get much of a chance to improve, he's gonna need game time.

Wish you'd make your mind up Steve.

Our best signing of the summer, just what we have been missing.

No ****.........

For the money, not that much of a gamble, got a good feeling about this one, again, if given a chance.

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The word if means so much in this statement. Is he conceeding that he's expecting him to be out quite often. The transfer that has least inspired me so far.

Larsson, good buy.

Westwood, i'm saying nowt...Hope it works out better than the last time we bought the biggest goalkeeper potential from the championship. A certain KD.

O'Shea, a good solid buy, nowt spectacular, but a decent solid player.

 

Bruce says some very odd things.

 

I'm with you Comm, i have a funny feeling that Dong is going to really surprise us all.

Gone are the days when players from that part of the world aren't up to the job, look at how the Koreans and Japanese perform in the major tournaments, they tend to do it in a nice and tidy was as well, really technically talented.

From the very limited viewing we have seen on youtube etc, he looks a really interesting prospect, great turn of pace, comfortable running with the ball, unusual in itself for a lad of 6ft 3.

I just share your hunch about him.

 

and very hard workers

 

That as well Syd yeah.

I really think he might surprise us this lad.

 

if ji has even half the work rate and ability of ji sung park we could have a real gem