SUNDERLAND are confident of completing a loan deal for Inter Milan midfielder Ricardo Alvarez before the transfer window closes – and Adam Johnson has welcomed the competition the Argentinian will provide. Black Cats sporting director Lee Congerton, who has also been in discussions with Celtic over a possible move for Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, has agreed the terms of a season-long loan that will see Sunderland pay around €1m to secure Alvarez’s services until next summer. At that stage the Wearsiders will have first refusal on a possible permanent deal worth around €11m, and Alvarez is expected to travel to the North-East within the next 24 hours to complete the technicalities of the move. The only potential sticking point is some ongoing interest from Monaco, although the Ligue 1 side are reluctant to complete any of their own transfer business before the future of their in-demand striker Radamel Falcao is resolved. Sunderland’s interest in van Dijk is at a less advanced stage, although Congerton is understood to have held a number of discussions with Celtic officials in the wake of the Scottish club’s Champions League exit at the hands of Maribor on Tuesday night. With Newcastle United and Swansea City also keen to sign van Dijk, Celtic are hoping to spark a bidding war, and while a potential fee of £6m has been quoted, it is unlikely that Sunderland’s finances would enable them to pay that price without some tough negotiating over the payment schedule. At this stage, loans are regarded as preferable and Alvarez, a seven-time Argentina international who joined Inter in a £12m move three years ago, is seen as a low-risk option given his experience in the European game. The 26-year-old can play in a central midfield role or in a wide position, and will provide further strength to a midfield unit that has already been extensively restructured this summer. Jordi Gomez, who scored his first Sunderland goal in Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Birmingham City, and Jack Rodwell, who opened his account in last weekend’s draw with Manchester United, have already moved to Wearside, but having grown accustomed to the arrival of a succession of potential rivals during his time at Manchester City, Johnson insists he is not fazed by the increased competition. “To be fair, I think the competition I had at City with people like David Silva was pretty good so that doesn’t worry me one bit, to be honest,” said the winger. “I think I’ve had it throughout my career with Stewie Downing and people like that. It’s never really been an issue for me. “I think it can bring the best out of players. You’ve got to up your game sometimes and it keeps you out of the comfort zone and stops you getting relaxed. I’m not the sort of player who relaxes anyway, but it’s always good for individuals and for the team to have competition to freshen things up.” Having missed last weekend’s draw with Manchester United because of illness, Johnson returned to action in Wednesday’s Capital One Cup win over Birmingham. The former England international scored his side’s second goal at St Andrew’s, stroking home the rebound after Jozy Altidore’s initial shot had been blocked, and his strike helped set up a third-round tie with Stoke City. Sunderland’s second-round victory had parallels with last season’s win over MK Dons that kick-started the club’s run to the League Cup final at Wembley, and while this season’s competition remains at a formative stage, Johnson is hoping to generate similar momentum. “It’s always good to have a home tie,” he said. “We showed last season that at home we can beat anyone. Any team wants to be at home and, for us especially, it cuts out the travelling. “Last season showed that with a couple of wins, you’re almost there. It didn’t really feel as long a competition as the FA Cup. Three wins and you’re somewhere near, so I think you’ve got to keep looking at that. Last season showed what a good day out it is for the supporters and the whole club.” Last term, Johnson also scored his first goal of the season in the League Cup second round, but while it took until January before he really hit his goalscoring stride, he is hoping to be more clinical at an earlier stage this time around. “It's always nice to get your first goal,” he said. “The pressure's off a bit now so I can try and get a string of them and hopefully get more than I got last season.”
I'm not a wum at all. I live in Leeds, am from Hull, support Hull City and Internazionale and I've had a season ticket for the latter. I just thought you might appreciate the views of someone who has regularly seen a player you're linked with. If you dont believe me go on the Hull board, anyone on there will tell you I'm an Inter fan.
Sunderland AFC News And Banter Page: @KHeneage I understand that Ricky Alvarez to #SAFC is all but done. Simply awaiting confirmation from Inter's side of things .@KHeneage From reading up, Alvarez does have an Italian passport, so shouldn't require a work permit to join #SAFC.
Bum chin, settle an argument for me... What is Inter's full name? I thought it Was Internazionale but a mate thinks it's Internazionale Milan, hence journo's referring to them as Inter Milan.
Fingers crossed. Don't want to sound pessimistic but i'll believe it when i see a photo of him wearing our shirt!
I can settle that, there is Milan in the official name. Inter took the name 'Internazionale' as originally they were the first team to use overseas players in Milan, Milan were the 'Italians', Inter the 'Internationals' hence Milan was dropped, but was added back in the70's, I believe
Its formally Internazionale de Milano. But nobody -and I mean nobody - journos, fans or anyone, ever - calls them this in Italy. They literally never mention the Milano part. So in essence you're both right. People calling them Inter Milan here are what I would say is wrong. It's Inter or Internzaionale. It also really annoys the f** out of me when people in the UK for some reason insist on referring to AC Milan. How many people when talking about clubs say Liverpool FC, or AS Roma, or FC Barcelona or CF Real Madrid? But for some reason they do with Milan. It's just Milan, there's no need for the AC. And then when people drop the Milan part and call them AC...oh my God..... And the other one is The San Siro. For a start it's not The, you dont say The Anfield, its San Siro and then it's not even the name of the stadium anyway. It's called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Milan fans coloquially call it San Siro because Giuseppe Meazza, although playing for both clubs, was a much bigger Inter player than Milan. Think along the lines of if Man Utd and Man City groundshared and they called the stadium The Denis Law stadium. City fans probably wouldnt be too happy. Yep, it was originally one club but the directors had an argument amongst themselves - some wanted a wholly Italian club and others wanted the best of the world's players to sign for them. So as Gustavo says they split and Internazionale was born. This is why it was so f**ing hilarious (and embarrassingly clueless) of media over here to criticise Inter on the Champions League winning run of having only 1 regular Italian in the side (Matterazzi). Do they not even know their football history? It's exactly what Inter is about!
Great info, cheers mate. Unfortunately means I was wrong. I know many refer to them as Inter and to AC Milan as simply Milan. The removal and restoration of the word probably explains that, with people just using the old name
Evening all. Just thought i'd pop back on cos ive heard literally nothing about Ricky since he's been with you. How has he done? Am i still clueless or or are some of my comments made at the time of his signing looking at least a little accurate?
Two appearances, first was a baptism of fire, the second he skinned a Spurs player virtually every time he got on the ball.
