Sunderland boss Roy Keane clearly fancies buying in bulk – he’s sidled up to Tottenham boss Juande Ramos and offered him £23 million for 4 fringe players, Teemu Tainio, Younes Kaboul, Pascal Chimbonda, and Steed Malbranque.
“What rot!!!” I hear you wail, “What sick fantasist came up with this tripe?”
Well, funny that you ask, ‘cos the Independent – not some tripe-filled tabloid peddlar of hearsay and rumour-mongery – came out with this peach of a story…
Sunderland’s transfer market activity surged into life yesterday with a remarkable raid on Tottenham Hotspur that could see Steed Malbranque, Teemu Tainio, Younes Kaboul and Pascal Chimbonda swap White Hart Lane for the Stadium of Light.
A collective fee of £23m has been agreed with Spurs, though the players have yet to speak directly with Sunderland manager Roy Keane and Chimbonda, for one, has also been linked with a move to Everton. (Independent)
It’s a well-known fact that there are plenty of footballers loath to move to the wilds of the North East, so buying in bulk makes a certain amount of sense, they’ll have a nice group of friends to settle in with. But the fact that none of these four will be getting regular first-team football at Spurs next season tells me that 23million quid is a little pricey.