In this morning's news recap, Sunderland are linked with an experienced Republic of Ireland international, while Donald Love has found a new home by the seaside.
ROBBIE BRADY
Ourselves, along with Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, are supposedly 'keeping tabs' on 30-year-old Robbie Brady. He finds himself out of contract this summer, although could still remain at Bournemouth. He has a 12-month extension, which Bournemouth are undecided on using due to his questionable fitness record. Brady can play either as a winger or a left-back, and his on-the-ball quality would be a huge asset to our Championship campaign should he come to Wearside. In February, Scott Parker said: “At this present moment in time, he can’t seem to stay fit. He’s had numerous problems and little issues, little slight issues what he’s picked up. Which is obviously very disappointing because he just can’t get any consistency, he can’t stay fit for any amount of time. So we’re constantly looking at it. And seeing what we can change or we can do to try and get him right. So at this moment, he’s going to be a few weeks off.” With Bournemouth gearing up for a Premier League season, the Cherries may be looking to replace Brady with a player with more consistency and better fitness levels- something we could indirectly benefit from.
LOVE JOINS MORECAMBE
Meanwhile, former Sunderland defender Donald Love has signed for Morecambe on a two-year deal. The 27-year-old's contract is expiring at Salford, and he returns to League One where he has played with Sunderland and Shrewsbury. The former Manchester United youngster (it's still baffling to think that Donald Love played for the Red Devils) said: “I am delighted to sign for the Club,” he said. I heard about Morecambe’s interest about a week ago and after speaking to the manager and Greg Strong about the interest and their plan, I was keen to get the deal done. It is nice to get everything sorted before the start of pre-season, which means I can get in and get to know the lads at the first opportunity. There are some big clubs in League One, it is great to be a part of this Club and I hope that we can kick on and not just fight relegation, I believe that we can go on and achieve great things. My strongest position is probably at right-back, I can cover positions anywhere across the back-line and I’d be happy to do so, I just want to come in and produce at full-back. After speaking to Greg and the manager, I knew that I wanted to come here and play football, I want to come in and hopefully do well for the Club. Fans can expect high-energy, a lot of strong tackles and as a team I am hoping that we can play some nice football too.”
EL-HADJI BA ON THE MOVE
Speaking of former Sunderland players, remember El-Hadji Ba? He's most recently been playing in the French Second Division with Guingamp, but is reaching the end of his contract. They've offered him a new contract, but he's also received offers from Greek side Aris FC and more notably, Cypriot outfit Apollon Limmasol. While that team may not mean anything to you, you may recognise a few players. Should Ba accept their contract, he'll join former Lads Charis Mavrias and Valentin Roberge, who both play for the champions of Cyprus. They just need Paolo Di Canio to become manager and it'll be a proper reunion.
CARABAO CUP
Stepping away from transfer news, Sunderland have been given a date for the Carabao Cup first round draw. It will commence at 2:30pm on Thursday, June 23 which is coincidentally the same day the Championship fixtures are released. The draw will take place live on Sky Sports, with 22 of the 24 Championship sides included in the draw. Recently relegated Burnley and Watford are not included in the first round, along with current Premier League sides. The first round of matches will take place week commencing August 8.
