August 2009 Archives

DANNY COLLINS could be set for a shock move to tomorrow's opponents Stoke after Sunderland agreed a fee for the defender with the Potters.

The 29-year-old - who has been Sunderland's Player of the Year for the last two seasons - has apparently been told by new Black Cats boss Steve Bruce that he can leave Wearside.

Collins' fellow centre-half Nyron Nosworthy, meanwhile, looks set to be staying at the Stadium of Light - for the time being at least - after Sunderland rejected a bid from Portsmouth.

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SUNDERLAND boss Steve Bruce is braced for further interest in his key men after knocking back inquiries about Kenwyne Jones and Danny Collins.

Bruce has re-iterated his 'hands off' message on Jones after receiving a £12m bid from a Premier League club last week - believed to be Stoke City. And although Bruce is hopeful of adding at least one more centre-back before Tuesday's transfer deadline, he is unlikely to want to lose players' player of the year Collins either.

But he would be open to offers for striker Daryl Murphy, who The Journal understands is being monitored by North East rivals Middlesbrough. Gareth Southgate lost striker Tunçay to Stoke City yesterday and, although he has other striking options under consideration, he may spend some of the cash on the £2m-rated Irish forward - who is not in Bruce's first team plans.

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GRANT LEADBITTER is on the verge of a move to Roy Keane's Ipswich, with the Suffolk side preparing a triple transfer raid on the Black Cats.

Former Sunderland boss Keane is also understood to have enquired about Sunderland's Trinidad & Tobago winger Carlos Edwards, and he has a long-standing interest in Republic of Ireland frontman Daryl Murphy.

And Leadbitter's agent Matthew Buck today confirmed that Sunderland have given him permission to open talks with Ipswich.

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GRANT Leadbitter is set for a surprise departure from the Stadium of Light after Ipswich Town were given permission to talk to the midfielder. And right- winger Carlos Edwards could follow him to Portman Road.

Inevitably, Roy Keane has been linked with a host of his former Sunderland players since moving to East Anglia late last season. Just two points and a League Cup exit from Ipswich's opening six games have made his need much greater.

Leadbitter may not be the only player making the move, with Keane also interested in Edwards and believed to be weighing up offers for Daryl Murphy and Nyron Nosworthy. Leadbitter, the only senior member of the squad who supported Sunderland as a child, is the Black Cats' longest-serving player and was happy to see the arrival of manager Steve Bruce, who tried to sign him for Wigan Athletic.

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CRAIG GORDON has set his sights on re-establishing himself as Sunderland's No 1 after making his long-awaited comeback from injury this week.

The Scotland keeper underwent knee surgery in May and played his first game for four months on Monday night, helping Sunderland to a 4-1 Carling Cup second round win at Norwich.

Hungary international Marton Fulop has played in Sunderland's first three Premier League games of the season, with Gordon on the bench as back-up.

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REVITALISED Andy Reid believes that the feel-good factor has returned to Sunderland - and he wants to be part of it on a regular basis.

The newly slim-line midfielder has paid tribute to new boss Steve Bruce for bringing direction and focus after the dreadful inconsistency of last season and reckons the Black Cats have their "strongest squad" since he joined the club.

Now he is aiming to return to the Premier League starting XI after a stirring Carling Cup display on Monday. Reid notched two goals and impressed with his all-round contribution, showing that he has benefited from a gruelling summer fitness programme that has helped him shift nine kilos and around 22mm of body fat.

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TEEMU TAINIO wants Sunderland to experience the winning Wembley feeling he sampled at Spurs.

The Finnish midfielder scored his first goal for the Black Cats - and ended his two-and-a-half year goal drought - as Sunderland beat Norwich 4-1 at Carrow Road to make it through to the third round of the Carling Cup.

Tainio won the competition with his previous club Spurs two seasons ago and he would love to get his hands on the cup again with the Wearsiders.

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STEVE Bruce has warned his first team regulars "five or six" of the fringe men who blitzed Norwich City in the Carling Cup are knocking on the first-team door.

The Black Cats boss is also ready to spend again before the transfer window slams shut, confirming Egypt international defender Ahmed Al-Muhammadi is set to sign on a season-long loan.

Bruce says the 21-year-old right-back, currently with Egyptian side Ennpi, is "one for the future".

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KENWYNE JONES has set himself a target of 20 goals for Sunderland this season.

Jones got off the mark at the weekend as he scored both goals in Sunderland's 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light.

The Trinidad & Tobago striker has been Sunderland's leading goalscorer for the last two seasons, scoring 12 in all competitions last season, despite missing the first three months of the campaign with knee ligament damage, and the season before that he scored seven times in his first year on Wearside.

But he is hungry for more.

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STEVE Bruce hailed his new-look midfield as he warned the Premier League that Sunderland will not be bullied out of games any more.

Sunderland notched their first home win of the campaign in a physical encounter with Blackburn thanks to a pair of Kenwyne Jones goals - but it was the performances of midfield duo Lorik Cana and Lee Cattermole that caught the eye.

Both were in excellent form as Blackburn's aerial attacks were eventually repelled and Sunderland edged home to confirm their best start to a Premier League campaign.

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