Manchester United are understood to be keeping tabs on Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone and have even established contact with his agents, reveals Gazzetta dello Sport. The Red Devils are gearing up for the departure of club flop Anders Lindegaard and are believed to be in the market for a replacement for the Dane. The search for a new shotstopper has reportedly brought David Moyes to the Stadium of Light, with the United manager now viewing Mannone as the ideal person to succeed the 29 year old at Old Trafford. The Italian will act as an important backup for first choice David de Gea, whilst providing him with much needed competition for a place in the United starting lineup. During his seven year stay at Arsenal, Mannone managed just 23 first team appearances for the club. He was subsequently transferred to Sunderland this season. The 25 year old has since then made 17 appearances for the Black Cats this season, out of which 12 have come in the Premier League. He currently has 5 clean sheets to his name this term in the league, despite Sunderland’s desperate position in the league standings. Mannone himself is expected to be open to the prospect of a switch away from the Stadium of Light this season, due to reports of his manager Gus Poyet eyeing a move for Catania goalkeeper Mariano Andujar. Na, still doesn't make sense. Not having it.
SUNDERLAND’S search for a new goalkeeper may not be quite so pressing, with Keiren Westwood’s injury not as severe as first thought. Black Cats boss Gus Poyet is on the look-out for a stopper during the January transfer window to provide cover for first-choice Vito Mannone. Republic of Ireland keeper David Forde, Westwood’s rival at international level, is one possible replacement, with the 34-year-old in the final six months of his contract at Championship Millwall. Westwood, who is also out of contract in the summer, was expected to be out for the rest of the season with the shoulder injury which has sidelined him since November. But Poyet today revealed that the diagnosis on Westwood is better than expected after the 29-year-old underwent an operation. Poyet said: “He has had the operation. Everything went all right, he is fine, so he starts his recovery next week. “It’s difficult to put a time on it because in the end, it was better than we thought. “Initially when they went in and they checked, it was not as bad as they thought, so it probably be shorter, but it’s difficult to say a time.” The only other player on Sunderland’s treatment table is Carlos Cuellar, who has missed the last two months with a hip injury. But Poyet expects the Spanish centre-half to resume training within the next 10 days.
I hope this is true. If anything's going to get him fired up to impress at OT it's this. As a career move it's a non-starter, though. Unless he has Steve Harperitis...
