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Fan Football - by Ross Carpenter

 
A forum about football, for football fans
John O'Shea, the 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international, and Manchester United defender, is reportedly in Sunderland undergoing a medical.

This morning, he left for Wearside for his medical, following in the footsteps of United team-mate, Wes Brown, who was in the north east for his medical on Wednesday night.

Should O'Shea and 31-year-old Brown sign for the Black Cats, they will become Steve Bruce's 7th and 8th signings of the pre-season, with hopes of a 9th to be confirmed also- that of Darren Gibson, also from United.

The United (soon to be Sunderland?) trio
They won't need to change their ties...


A £12million joint bid was made several weeks ago, which was accepted by Bruce's former manager, Alex Ferguson. The deal for Gibson has proven to be the most problematic, despite Gibson indicating his willingness to consider a move to the Stadium of Light early on.

Whether only Brown and O'Shea, or Gibson as well, sign for Sunderland, it will, as well as adding stability and experience to a weak defence, bring United fans everywhere to reluctantly bid farewell. O'Shea particularly is one of those players that has given his all, worn his heart on his sleeve, and any other number of clichés you can think of, for his club, and has adapted to any role given to him.



They will both, or all, be missed by United, and Sunderland will shore up a squad that has been all about change in recent weeks.
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Sunderland add Ji and Gardner

June 30th 2011 18:01
Sunderland continue to add to their squad today, with the signings of two new players. Having signed Connor Wickham from Ipswich on Wednesday, Bruce has secured the signatures of Craig Gardner, Birmingham's 24-yr old midfielder, and Ji Dong-won, the K-League's 20-yr old Chunman Dragons' striker.

Having scored 10 for Birmingham last season, including winning the Carling Cup as a Blue, Gardner makes the switch for an undisclosed-fee. Despite his efforts, Birmingham failed to avoid the drop and Sunderland were only too happy to swoop.


Ji himself has a habit of scoring, hitting 6 in 11 international appearances for his native South Korea. He is the second Korean that Bruce has signed as manager, having signed Chon Won-hee for his former club, Wigan Athletic, in 2009.


Bruce told the Sunderland website:
"The boy has been in fantastic form for both club and country and he was one of South Korea's stand-out performers at the Asian Cup so we are delighted to bring him to Sunderland.
The Barclays Premier League is very different to the K-League so there is hard work ahead but you just have to look at players like Park Ji-sung and Lee Chung-yong to see how well Korean players are adapting to its pace and physicality.
I believe Ji can be an excellent acquisition and he has certainly impressed us over the long period we have been watching him."

In addition to Wickham, Ji and Gardner, Sunderland have signed Sebastian Larsson from Birmingham, and goalkeeper Kieren Westwood from Coventry City.
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Following my last report about Wickham, and the fact that a matched bid from Liverpool could have scuppered the Black Cats, well... one never came.

And today as a consequence, the 6'3", 18-year-old striker made the switch to the Stadium of Light for an initial fee of £8 million, possibly rising to as much as £12m over the course of his four-year contract.



Steve Bruce, Sunderland manager, said:
"A number of top sides have been chasing Connor for some time now, so naturally we are absolutely delighted he has chosen to come to Sunderland. He's still very young, but at 6'3" he's a physical presence. With his height and style of play, he will offer us a threat in front of goal and complement our existing strikers.
We have been watching him for a while now and he is improving and developing all the time. He's a great prospect and I'm sure our supporters will love watching him play."



As much as Liverpool were reported to have had Wickham in their sights for some time, Wickham is believed to have preferred a move to the north-east due to the increased likelihood of playing regularly. Given Darren Bent's switch to Aston Villa in January and Danny Welbeck returing to Old Trafford after the completion of his loan period, Asamoah Gyan is the only recognised first-team striker, increasing further the chances for Wickham of a place in the starting line-up.
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Wickham to swap Tractors for Cats?

June 28th 2011 14:56
According to reports, a respectful £13million bid made by Sunderland for England U21 striker Connor Wickham has been accepted by Ipswich Town.


Steve Bruce and Niall Quinn will now team up in an attempt to persuade the 18-year-old forward to make the switch from Portman Road to the Stadium of Light.

Since making his debut as a fresh-faced 16-year-old towards the end of the 2008-09 season, he has scored 15 goals for the Tractor Boys, first finding the target in August 2009.


However, Liverpool are the preferred destination for Wickham, with them already having signed his England U21 colleague, Jordan Henderson, from Sunderland themselves for £20m. A matched bid from the Reds would therefore be a double blow for the Rokerites (although Sunderland are no longer called that!).

Until Liverpool do match Sunderland's bid, however, discussions with Sunderland are allowed to happen.

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