Football News

Sunderland rebuild continues as Ross McCormack transfer nears

Sunderland are negotiating Ross McCormack’s transfer to Wearside from Aston Villa as Black Cats’ manager Simon Grayson continues to rebuild the club. McCormack has been targeted by Grayson as the man to get Sunderland back into the Premier League. McCormack is currently valued at just over £8 million.

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McCormack arrived at Aston Villa last summer for £12m from Fulham. The striker scored just three goals in 22 matches and was shipped to Nottingham Forest for the second half of the Championship season. There, he tallied one goal in seven matches.

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Grayson spoke about “big contracts” when asked about the player.

“Certain players are on big contracts and their clubs are not going to loan them out or sell them to the first team that comes along – they might wait until later in the window because someone else might come in from another club,” Grayson said.

“We’ve done the deals that we have done so far because it has been right for the clubs that we have got them from, but some of the deals we have been asking about are not quite right for other clubs at this moment in time.

“It’s going to be a case of showing some patience, and not diving in when we don’t need to.

“There are players who have been offered to us over the last few days that have gone on to move to other clubs, but I felt that they weren’t going to make us any better.

“We have a good base here in the squad but we do need the extra quality that we are going to bring in, and sometimes that has to wait until later in the window because the Premier League clubs are getting their squad sorted.

“That’s really the market we are looking in – along with other Championship clubs – but when they get their players in, there will be a knock-on effect.”

It is believed that Grayson wants to add two strikers to his Sunderland squad, and with the money received in the club’s sale of Jermain Lens to Besiktas, there is plenty of cash available. Lens is thought to have left Sunderland for around £4.5m.

The Black Cats got off to a solid start in the Championship with a 1-1 draw against Derby. Grayson is still rebuilding his squad as the club look to bounce back to the top-flight one year after relegation.

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