Chopra just part of Keane clear-out

9:18am Saturday 8th November 2008

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MICHAEL Chopra will lead a January exodus from the Stadium of Light after Roy Keane admitted the current Sunderland squad was “too big”.

Chopra became the 11th Sunderland player to leave Wearside on loan this season when he joined Cardiff on Thursday – Russell Anderson has subsequently returned to the North-East after suffering a knee injury – with Keane admitting the size of the Black Cats squad was a cause for concern.

The Sunderland boss insists Chopra’s two-month loan deal is not necessarily the precursor to a permanent move in January, but the former Newcastle striker would now appear to top a lengthy list of players who will be available at the turn of the year.

“The squad is too big,” admitted Keane, who signed eight of the ten players currently on loan from Sunderland.

“It’s clear we have to trim the squad because we have far too many good players not playing.

“I’ve brought a lot of players here and it’s been made clear to me that we’ve too many players now. One or two will have to move on, and I’m comfortable with that.”

Chopra would appear to fall into that category, and Cardiff boss Dave Jones has already outlined his desire to complete a permanent deal for the 24-year-old in January.

Keane paid £5m to sign Chopra in July 2007, and while the striker has scored eight goals in 22 Premier League starts, there is little chance of the Black Cats boss recouping his money.

The same applies to a number of other players who are likely to leave Sunderland for good in two months time.

Greg Halford, currently on loan at Sheffield United, is unlikely to command the £2.5m transfer fee Keane paid for him in June 2007, while Carlos Edwards and Ross Wallace, on loan at Wolves and Preston respectively, are equally unlikely to produce a profit.

All three will be available for permanent transfer in January, along with Paul Mc- Shane, currently on loan at Premier League Hull City, and Graham Kavanagh, presently playing for League One strugglers Carlisle.

Having initially signed for the Cumbrians until mid-November, Kavanagh yesterday signed a one-month extension that will see him remain at Brunton Park until early December.

“There are a combination of reasons why people are on loan,” said Keane. “Carlos needed games, while Paul Mc- Shane wasn’t able to do much with us in pre-season.

“In addition, I have confidence in the young lads that are starting to come through here and get a sniff. Martyn (Waghorn) and Jordan (Henderson) were involved at Chelsea, and there’s another two or three that are not far behind them.”

The emergence of Waghorn and Henderson has provided a further incentive for Keane to shuffle his squad, with the departure of the likes of Chopra and Edwards enabling the Black Cats boss to promote some of his club’s teenage talent into the first-team squad.

Waghorn is struggling with an ankle injury sustained in last weekend’s defeat at Stamford Bridge, but Henderson is expected to be on the substitutes’ bench for the second game in a row today and Keane expects both to feature prominently in the next couple of months.

“They’re both ones for the future, but it’s time to get one or two of these lads involved,”

he said.

“It’s time they got their chance in the first team on a much more regular basis.

“We’ve got great hopes for both of them and they have a great chance of being top players.”

George McCartney is expected to shake off a foot injury to take his place in the starting line-up to face Portsmouth, but with goalkeeper Craig Gordon continuing to struggle with an ankle problem, Marton Fulop will retain his place between the posts.