SUNDERLAND appear to have counted themselves out of the race to sign Carlos Cuellar after the Spanish defender was offered deals in Turkey and Spain. The Black Cats are understood to have made preliminary contact with Cuellar last month but stopped short of offering the free agent centre-back a deal to play on Wearside. Now Cuellarâs representative Pedro Bravo has told The Journal the former Aston Villa man is pondering offers from Turkey and Spain after receiving no contact from Black Cats officials. It is a move which makes sense for Sunderland, who surely have other priorities in the summer transfer window. With the acquittal of Titus Bramble and the subsequent reassurances he has been offered about his Black Cats future they have three frontline specialist centre-backs â and Wes Brown and John OâShea who can also fill in there. Youngster Louis Laing could also break into the first-team squad if he continues to progress. It therefore makes little sense for OâNeill to broker a deal for Cuellar unless there are to be imminent defensive departures. Although the experienced 30-year-old would undoubtedly welcome the prospect of a reunion with Martin OâNeill, Sunderlandâs failure to act means a move to the Stadium of Light is unlikely to materialise. He has offers from Valencia and Osasuna â while Galatasaray and Greek side Olympiakos have also been mentioned. âSunderland have not made an offer for Carlos. They have not phoned me,â his agent Pedro Bravo told The Journal. âOf course, Sunderland is a very very good club and Martin OâNeill is a very good coach. If Martin phoned me with an offer, of course Carlos would be happy but at the moment I donât know. âI am working to find a club for Carlos and there is a lot of interest. âWe have clubs in Spain and in Turkey who have made an offer â now it is up to Carlos to chose a new club. âSunderland have not phoned me so that is not an option for Carlos.â ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Would of been a good squad signing IMO but nothing more, one of those signings if it comes off then good business by the club but if not no-one is going to lose any sleep over it. Seems like the two free agents we have been heavily linked with in Cuellar and Diame won't be coming, lets just hope the reports linking us with Manuel Fernandes who is also a free agent come off, he is certainly the better of the three.
I think we've missed a trick here personally. A decent Premier League experienced utility defender for free is a no brainer.
I would of preferred to sign him, experienced and has worked with MON before, quite gutted about this tbh
This Agreed unless he was after a huge last pay day, wanted daft signing on fees and wages and a 2 or 3 year contract?
There was a big buzz about him when he was leaving Rangers, but he doesn't seem to have stood out at Villa, so not overly bothered...
