Reports in Italy have linked Sunderland with a move for out-of-contract Wisla Krakow defender Gordan Bunoza, who has been a target for Palermo. Meanwhile, the Black Cats have also been credited with an interest in Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton, whose contract comes to an end next month. More on Diakite, Roberge etc. http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...t-be-right-for-sunderland-s-diakite-1-6618059
The amounts have never bothered me, I don't care if we have 10 million or 50 million, its how we spend it. Mitchu was about 2 million and when I watch foreign football there is some real gems to be had. Spending big transfer fees only guarantee you also have to spend big wages. Im sure Gus has some players lined up who suit his style lined up and im excited to see how the team shapes up. Got to say though would love Borini to come back!
SUNDERLAND are confident of engineering a swap deal that will see Marcos Alonso complete a permanent move to the Stadium of Light while Modibo Diakite heads in the opposite direction to Fiorentina. Alonso spent the second half of last season on Wearside on loan from the Serie A side, and the full-back is one of the players that Gustavo Poyet is especially keen to retain for next season. The 23-year-old, who still has two years of his current contract to run, is valued at around £4m, but Sunderland are hoping to halve his price by offering Diakite as part of the deal. Having failed to impress after joining the Black Cats as a free agent last summer, Diakite joined Fiorentina on loan in January and successfully established himself in the Italian club’s first team. The centre-half would like to move to Florence permanently this summer, and Fiorentina’s desire to retain him should ensure that Alonso returns to Wearside to remain Sunderland’s first-choice left-back next season. “If it were down to Diakite, he would stay with the Viola (Fiorentina) with his eyes closed,” said the defender’s agent, Ulisse Savini. “He gets on very well with both the coach and his team-mates, and Florence is a city that he likes very much. “His value? It depends how highly Sunderland will value him. If they want to treat him as a possible starter, he will come at a cost. But if they treat him like he is surplus to requirements, he will command a much lower fee.” As well as hoping to re-sign Alonso, Sunderland officials are also monitoring Bosnian left-back Gordan Bunoza, who will leave Polish side Wisla Krakow this summer. Capable of playing at both full-back and centre-half, Bunoza will become a free agent next month, and Sunderland are set to tussle with Malaga, Palermo and FC Basle for his signature. With Phil Bardsley, Ondrej Celustka and Diakite all expected to join Andrea Dossena and Carlos Cuellar in leaving Wearside, Poyet could have to sign up to four new defenders this summer. He could also be welcoming Exeter youngster Matt Grimes to Wearside after Kevin Ball attended the Grecians’ final game of the League Two season at Hartlepool this month in order to watch the midfielder at first hand. Grimes, who does not turn 19 until July, has made 37 senior appearances since breaking into Exeter’s first team at the start of the season. It is looking increasingly unlikely that Fabio Borini will be returning to the Stadium of Light, with the Italian having featured in the Liverpool squad for last night’s friendly with Irish side Shamrock Rovers. Brendan Rodgers is expected to include Borini in his squad for this summer’s pre-season matches, before making a decision on the forward’s long-term future in August. Meanwhile, Craig Gardner has been informed that he will not be receiving a new contract with the Black Cats. Gardner, whose current deal expires next month, has not started a Premier League game since early December and is expected to return to his native Midlands, with West Brom and newly-promoted Leicester City both interested in acquiring his services. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/11214464._/?
Serious interest in Watford defender Gabriele Angella from clubs such as West Ham, West Brom, Arsenal, Sunderland and Southampton has come as no surprise to the player's agent, who feels his client has taken English football by the scuff of the neck. The 25-year-old landed at Watford last summer, switching from Udinese where he had not broken through under coach Francesco Guidolin, being loaned out to Siena and then Reggina. Angella wasted no time in cementing a spot in the Watford side and impressing in the Championship, clocking up admirers. Now almost half of the Premier League have been linked with moving to sign the Italian – and his agent is not at all surprised. "He is a serious guy, he went with great enthusiasm [to England], leaving Serie A. It was not easy, but he immediately imposed himself and proved himself suitable for English football, doing well", Marco Piccioli told Tutto Mercato. "He has rated highly and has the major teams' eyes on him." However, when those sides chasing Angella were put to Piccioli, the agent was keen not to speak of a switch too soon. "Wait, it's one thing to take this into account, another to take the plunge. Let's see what materialises, we must speak to [Giampaolo] Pozzo [Udinese and Watford owner]. "Let's see. Guidolin praised him and said he would never have given him away, so you have to consider every possibility. "The first step is to meet with Pozzo and then, considering the needs of everyone, we will evaluate together." Read more at http://www.insidefutbol.com/2014/05...am-and-sunderland/140882/#upoV4PzogFziqVwz.99
Darren Bent today ruled out a permanent switch to Fulham with Villa saddled with his bumper wages for another season. The £24m striker will not stay in London after the Cottagers were relegated from the Premier League. He scored just six goals in 30 games last term after moving to Craven Cottage on loan. Bent earns around £60,000-a-week but Fulham had agreed to pay all of the cash during his spell. The 30-year-old has another year left on his Villa contract and the claret and blues are now braced to shell out for the misfit again. âIâve enjoyed my time down here but obviously it hasnât gone well,â said Bent. âI havenât played as much football as I would have liked. âWhen I first came here I hoped it was going to be a case of playing fairly regularly, but it just wasnât meant to be. â Villa are also still paying Alan Hutton £40,000-a-week and Charles NâZogbia £60,000 with neither in manager Paul Lambertâs plans. Bent will not play for Villa while Lambert is in charge and is now looking for a new club. Bentâs return gives Villa another headache with talks in New York between chairman Randy Lerner and Lambert continuing today. Lerner has put the club up for sale and the pair, along with chief executive Paul Faulkner, are thrashing out a short-term plan. Lambert is willing to continue as manager but is seeking assurances he will not get all of the blame if Villa continue to struggle.
After only signing a six-month deal when he arrived at the club on a free transfer from Almeria in January, Oscar Ustari's contract at Sunderland is about to expire and according to reports in Italy, Serie A side Lazio are hoping to sign the Argentinian on a free transfer. The report claims that Ustari doesn't want to spend another season as second choice, after he only made three appearances for Sunderland (all in the FA Cup), and with Lazio having doubts over the performances of their regular number one Etrit Berisha, they have turned their attentions to Ustari as a cost effective alternative to the Albanian international. Ustari kept a clean sheet in two of his three FA Cup appearances, in 1-0 wins over Kidderminster Harriers and Southampton, and despite conceding three in the quarter-final against Hull, impressed with a penalty save from Sone Aluko. However the 27-year-old didn't make a single appearance in the league and spent the remainder of the season on the bench behind Vito Mannone. Should Ustari depart Sunderland, it will leave Vito Mannone and Jordan Pickford as the only senior goalkeepers at the club with Keiren Westwood also out of contract and will almost certainly lead to Gus Poyet and Lee Congerton seeking a new senior goalkeeper.
Seb Larsson is one of the many players due to leave Sunderland in the near future, whether they be out of contract or at the end of their loan spell, but he's also reported to be one of the few who Gus Poyet is hoping to keep at the club. Those hopes may have become more difficult with the news out of Italy that Rafa Benitez has specifically requested that Napoli try to sign the Swedish international. According to the report in respected Italian newspaper 'Il Sussidiario', the Spanish manager wants to add Larsson to his squad as a cost-effective way of adding some versatility to his squad. Should Napoli follow up in their interest in the 28-year-old, they are sure to be an attractive option for Larsson with the Naples-based side currently 3rd in Serie A and guaranteed Champions League football once again next season. The Italians' interest should prove a test for Lee Congerton's negotiating skills, as Poyet hopes to keep Larsson at the club before his contract expires in little over a month.
It looks certain to be a hectic summer at the Stadium of Light this summer, with Phil Bardsley, Jack Colback, Seb Larsson, Craig Gardner, Carlos Cuellar, Oscar Ustari, Keiren Westwood and Andrea Dossena's contracts expiring in the near future, Ki Sung-Yueng, Fabio Borini, Santiago Vergini, Marcos Alonso and Ondrej Celustka's loan spells expiring and youngsters John Egan, Louis Laing, Billy Knott, Adam Mitchell, Jordan Laidler and Alejandro Gorrin all set to be released, it looks as if new Sporting Director Lee Congerton will have his work cut out getting in new arrivals for both the first team and development squad, as well as trying to convince Colback, Larsson and Bardsley to remain at the club. Unsurprisingly, with so many players set to leave the club, there has already been a steady players linked to Sunderland to add to our first list of the summer window: Julian Speroni (Crystal Palace) Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik (Stade Rennais) Santiago Vergini (Estudiantes) Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina) Caner Erkin (Fenerbache) Gordan Bunoza (Wisla Krakow) Will Buckley (Brighton) Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa) Raul Meireles (Fenerbache) Matt Grimes (Exeter) Josh McEachran (Chelsea) Diego Capel (Sporting Lisbon) Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff) Fabio Borini (Liverpool) Quite a mixture of players there, at least one from almost every position on the pitch and a mix of English and foreign based players. We will start with the three players on that list who were recently on-loan at Sunderland, namely Vergini, Borini and Alonso. It seems likely that Vergini will become a Sunderland player on a permanent basis in the near future and the club are reportedly confident of including Modibo Diakite in a proposed swap deal with Fiorentina for Alonso, with both players seemingly keen to remain at their prospective loan clubs. Borini will be an altogether more difficult deal to complete. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken of his desire to see the Italian striker add to the quality at the Premier League runners up, however there have been numerous reports that say Borini will be one of many players that Liverpool will listen to offers for as they look to improve their team ahead of their involvement in next season's Champions League. I think it's fair to say not to get your hopes up for the return of the popular Italian, should he even become available, we will have lots of competition for his signature. Away from the loanees, we have been rumoured to be tracking foreign defensive trio, Kana-Biyik, Bunoza and Erkin. Kana-Biyik is a central defender, which will be a position that needs a lot of strengthening, even if Vergini completes his move. John O'Shea and Wes Brown aren't getting younger, as already mentioned Diakite may move to Fiorentina in a swap deal for Alonso, Cuellar has been released and Valentin Roberge ended the season completely out of favour. Whether the Cameroon international is a genuine target remains to be seen but with the player currently suspended by his club, he would almost certainly be available should Sunderland's interest be real. Erkin and Bunoza are both left backs, with Erkin being by far the better of the two players. A highly rated Turkish international who is out of contract very soon, 25-year-old Erkin is expected to leave Fenerbache during the summer and would certainly add quality to Sunderland's left back position. It's believe the club were interested during the January transfer window and any renewed interest may depend on what happens with Alonso but it could be an interesting one to keep an eye on. Bunoza is also out of contract this summer and has been quoted saying he will leave Wisla Krakow for pastures new. Standing 6'5", he would certainly fit add extra height into our back line and could also add strength in depth behind Alonso or even Erkin. We have once again been linked with Meireles, a player who is regularly linked with a move away from Fenerbache and particularly to the Stadium of Light. An experienced player who would certainly fit into Poyet's style of play, it's likely his wages could prove a stumbling block, as could the prospective fee for a 31-year-old. At the other end of the age spectrum, the club have also been credited with an interest in Matt Grimes of Exeter City, the 18-year-old was named Exeter's player of the season and would give a much needed boost to the development squad after so many players were released. According to a report in Italy last month, Sunderland were in pole position to sign Spanish winger Diego Capel from Sporting Lisbon, should we stay up, now safety has been achieved we will have to wait and see whether anything comes from that link. Soon to be free agent Albrighton has been linked with a move from Villa, a move that would add some pace to the squad and with the player still only 24, could be a shrewd move that would, at the very least, boost the numbers of a very depleted squad. Another winger linked with the club, and one we should expect to pop-up during every window until he either signs or Poyet leaves the club, is Brighton's Will Buckley. Sunderland had a bid rejected for the player in January and after they managed to sign his team-mate Liam Bridcutt, could return to the South Coast to try and poach a player he admired from his time in charge at The Amex. In a move that seems very unlikely, we were also linked with a move for former fans' favourite Fraizer Campbell. Campbell would cost a reported £5m and considering we've already made a loss on the player, it seems doubtful that we would pay over £4m more than we sold him for just 18 months ago. Finally, we have also been credited with an interest in Chelsea's Josh McEachran and Julian Speroni of Crystal Palace. McEachran is a player who could thrive in Poyet's style of play but his career has gone off the boil after some early promise and after failing to break into the Chelsea first team has had some underwhelming loan spells where he has struggled to make an impression. He is a player who is known well by Congerton after the Welshman's spell at Chelsea, so could be 'worth a punt' if Poyet believes he can help revive the player's flagging career. Speroni is another player out of contract in June and with Westwood and Ustari due to leave the club, could add competition to first choice Vito Mannone but Palace are believed to be hopeful of keeping the Argentinian at the South London club. That's your lot for this week but expect the number of players linked to rise quite substantially over the coming months. The total for last year's summer transfer window topped the 100 mark and it will be surprising if the total for this year doesn't match that number.
Sunderland Plan for the summer: With several players out of contract Gus Poyet and his new director of football, Lee Congerton, are contemplating a major re-construction project. Assorted positions including striker need strengthening but Poyet will hope to persuade midfielder Jack Colback to sign a new contract while also converting loans for Marcos Alonso and Santiago Vergini into permanent deals. Transfer kitty: £30m Most mouth-watering rumour so far: Fabio Borini (Liverpool). LT http://www.theguardian.com/football...dow-premier-league-manchester-united-west-ham
Broadsheet Journos are much more likely to engage their brains than the tabloid jobsworths though. 30 makes sense to me like. This years money has almost wiped out our overdraft. There should be funds to work with considering it's same again in tv cash next season.
Sunderland, not West Ham, the best next move for Spurs’ Lennon Forever searching to bolster his stock of proven Premier League wingers, Sam Allardyce will pay whatever it takes to land Aaron Lennon from cross-capital rivals Tottenham. Spurs are set for another busy summer behind the scenes with the club in the market for a new manager after dispensing with Tim Sherwood following last season’s conclusion. Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino is the bookies’ favourite to land the post and is believed to keen on bringing Adam Lallana with him to White Hart Lane should he get the job with the 50/1 shots for next season’s title. The arrival of yet more competition in the attacking midfield department could well spell the end of Lennon’s nine-year stint in north London and the Hammers are thought to be at the front of the queue for his services. Standing not too far behind them and making one heck of a commotion, however, is Sunderland, who are hoping to barge their way past the east Londoners and convince the Leeds native to return to the north of England. Exuding pace and trickery, Lennon is a player who has often underwhelmed on account of a questionable end product, yet Allardyce envisions him on the right and Stewart Downing on the left providing battering ram striker Andy Carroll with ammunition from all angles next term, increasing their potency in the final third. The 27-year-old, however, isn’t much of a crosser according to his whoscored.com stats. He whipped in a paltry 0.6 balls in for the Spurs strike force in the previous campaign, assisting a mere three goals. The former Leeds man’s tendency to dribble before crossing may make him a better fit for Sunderland, who aren’t as one-dimensional in their attacking ambitions. Fabio Borini flourished playing out wide in a front three under Gus Poyet, but the Italian wasn’t overly inclined to beat a man on the outside and lump a ball in the box. His more direct approach of cut inside and shoot brought him seven top-flight goals though and the Black Cats could extract a similar haul from the apparently unwanted Spurs man. - See more at: http://bwinbetting.com/leagues/prem...spurs-lennon,54969.html?#sthash.AcpSAI6Z.dpuf Bookies discussing this rumour. Not convinced myself, we could do with that sort of pace though
http://www.wearewearside.com/post/2014/05/18/Transfer-Window-What-Can-We-Expect-for-SAFC.aspx Transfer gossip is slowly bubbling away however it does seem that there have been very few (if any) credible stories. Assuming of course talks with Ellis Short go well for Gus Poyet and he leads our raid of the market – let’s have a look at the areas of our squad in desperate need of strengthening. Given Lee Congerton’s reputation I think we will probably see a few youth players come in, but I can’t help but have major doubts over our spending power with so many holes needing to be filled with players leaving for nothing. I expect this to be a fairly cost-cutting way to make a build capable of staying up again, with perhaps more quality coming in next season. With Gus likely to have the bigger say, it surely won’t follow the same disastrous pattern as last summer! With any luck, other than those out-of-contact, we shouldn't see too may outgoings. Goalkeeper Oscar Ustari’s contract is due to expire soon, which would leave us with first choice Vito Mannone and youngster Jordan Pickford. It’s not ideal to go into the season without an established second choice keeper, so if we can wrap up Ustari on another deal it would be a nice quick-fix so we can focus our attentions elsewhere. If not, and if Gus doesn’t fancy placing his trust in Pickford, I’d hope we find a reasonable freebie somewhere. Defence No doubt defensive recruitment will be high on Poyet’s agenda. As it stands, we have one (soon to be out of contract) full back – and that’s Phil Bardsley. It’s a little up in the air whether or not our record Premier League appearance holder will sign a new deal and that probably hinges entirely on his willingness to take a pay cut. Reports suggest he currently earns a whopping £32k and if that’s what we would need to pay to keep him I’d be happier seeing him leave. The good news here is that the signings of Marcos Alonso and Santiago Vergini are likely and both of these would be fairly low-cost for Sunderland. Whilst Vergini was impressive at right back last term, Poyet lavishing praise on him for playing out-of-position and early pledge to keep players in their favoured areas of the field would suggest he won’t be right back next season, but primarily a centre back perhaps used as cover on the right. So assuming Vergini is signed, I think it would still be necessary to recruit another centre back given Wes Brown’s age, unless Poyet discovers a decent player behind Valentin Roberge which seems unlikely. We would still be short at right back and still need back up for Alonso. I suspect we would be after an out-and-out right back and another left back, possibly on loan – depending on what is available. Not Danny Rose unfortunately. Midfield With Craig Gardner gone, Jack Colback likely to follow and Sebastian Larsson’s future in major doubt – we are hugely short in midfield. Alfred N’Diaye’s loan is due to end but it seems unlikely he will be here next season, although you’d like to think Poyet will give him the opportunity to at least impress in pre-season. Fabio Borini’s return is also looking unlikely, so we are seriously short in the middle. We will probably see El-Hadji Ba play a bigger part next season and perhaps even Charis Mavrias to bulk up the squad. It would help a lot if Larsson or Colback (or both) can be persuaded into a new deal, but if they both leave it would force Gus into signing maybe three central midfielders. Perhaps it would be a blessing in disguise, whilst these players showed excellent form in our incredible survival – they are also the same players to have dragged us through relegation battle after relegation battle. I’d like to see a forward thinking midfielder and someone like Youssouf Mulumbu fill the gaps should they be needed. A winger would be required too, with Adam Johnson and Emanuele Giaccherini the only senior ones we have. Will Buckley and Aaron Lennon have already been touted as possible options, though I hope the latter is pure speculation. Striker This position probably depends on whether Connor Wickham and Steven Fletcher stay. Jozy Altidore is likely to be back in the mix after recent comments and the backing he has from Poyet. Wickham will be going into the last year of his contract which puts us in a vulnerable position. A bigger team may well come in with a cut price bid and snatch him away if we can’t convince him to sign up for another few years. This is a massive, massive factor for us this transfer window because last season proved we can’t rely on Altidore and Fletcher up front – so we would have to spend big on a striker. Regarding Fletcher, he is currently ‘working hard’ on his fitness, but it’s up in the air whether he is part of Poyet’s future plans. If he goes, but we keep Wickham, we might still get away with it depending on how Ignacio Scocco develops – otherwise a decent striker (perhaps on loan) would be necessary. In numbers I think we need; 1x Goalie 2x left back (one of which should be Alonso) 1x right back 2x centre back (one of which should be Vergini) 3x centre mid 1x winger So possibly up to ten players, that's assuming nobody signs a new contract and nobody else leaves. Busy summer ahead - again! They don't see the need to bring in a striker. Baffling.
SANTIAGO VERGINI’S Sunderland future is expected to become clearer this week. Vergini proved to be the surprise package during Sunderland’s remarkable final six games after looking far more comfortable in a right-back role. The 25-year-old had initially looked a bag of nerves at centre-half when he arrived on loan from Argentine side Estudiantes in the January transfer window, yet the turnaround in his form is expected to see Sunderland make his stay permanent this summer. A clause was built into the loan to convert it into a permanent switch and it is thought Vergini could be available for as little as £500,000 from Atletico Fenix, who loaned him to Estudiantes at the start of the season. But while Gus Poyet has indicated his eagerness to keep hold of Vergini, the Argentine international’s camp are yet to hear from the Black Cats. That situation is expected to change in the coming days though, with Poyet returning from his holiday in the Middle East this week. With Poyet scheduled to hold a second round of talks with Sunderland chairman Ellis Short before the weekend, the picture over the eight out-of-contract and five loan players on the club’s books should be clarified. Sources close to Vergini are confident that a deal will go through though and progress will be made on the transfer in the next few days. Keeping Vergini’s fellow Argentine, Oscar Ustari, on Wearside may prove to be far tougher for Poyet. The Sunderland boss has been hugely impressed by Ustari’s attitude and performances in training and would like to keep hold of the 27-year-old, albeit there are not thought to have been any contract talks yet. But Ustari, who only penned a six-month deal with Sunderland in January, is concerned about being limited to a back-up role to first-choice stopper Vito Mannone after he has been restricted to three FA Cup games for the Black Cats. Ustari is eager to play first-team football and, with Italian giants Lazio rumoured to be interested, Poyet may face an uphill battle to persuade the former Almeria man to remain at the Stadium of Light. If Ustari does depart, Poyet will be eager to land a replacement back-up for Mannone, with academy product Jordan Pickford the only other keeper on the club’s books with any Football League experience. Former Manchester United keeper Tomaz Kuszczak could be a possibility after Sunderland were linked with the Polish international last month. Poyet took Kuszczak to Brighton two years ago, but the 32-year-old was released by the Seagulls last week after their defeat in the Championship play-off semi-finals. Vergini’s Sunderland future set to become clearer SANTIAGO VERGINI’S Sunderland future is expected to become clearer this week. sunderlandecho.com
