10:51am Thursday 9th July 2009
By Paul Fraser
STEVE BRUCE has moved closer to making his first signings as Sunderland manager, and has also agreed to sell both Dean Whitehead and Daryl Murphy to Ipswich.
While talks are understood to have taken place with the representatives of Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell and Paraguayan defender Paulo Da Silva in the past 48 hours, former Sunderland boss Roy Keane has agreed a fee in the region of £5m for both Whitehead and Murphy.
Bruce, who has also lodged a written bid to Portsmouth for Peter Crouch, worth up to £13m, took his first pre-season training session as Sunderland boss yesterday.
But it is thought that there will soon be some movement on the personnel front in both directions.
Deals for Campbell and De Souza are far from certain, with strong competition for both players.
But Bruce, armed with a healthy budget from club owner Ellis Short, is determined to make sure his pursuit of both players ends favourably.
Hull City have made no secret of their interest in Campbell, but they have been unable to persuade him to talk since agreeing a fee – thought to be about £6m – four weeks ago.
And Sunderland have already held discussions with the 21-year-old’s representatives and they hope something will be agreed before the player returns from holiday on July 16. Alan Shearer, who remains in a state of limbo, would also be interested if he takes over at Newcastle United.
Da Silva, the centre-back who left Mexican side Toluca at the end of his contract, arrived on Wearside yesterday for discussions and is now weighing up a move to the North-East or Tottenham.
The 29-year-old informed friends and family he was heading to Sunderland this week, but Spurs have emerged as candidates for his signature.
But Da Silva is believed to have been at Sunderland yesterday to discuss a three-year deal, strengthening Bruce’s hopes of landing at least one of his summer targets this week.
Bruce also wants Manchester City’s Richard Dunne, Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole and Tottenham’s Darren Bent.
And it would seem that his attempts to land those could be boosted by the end of this week, following Keane’s move for Murphy and Whitehead.
“We have agreed a price with two players from a club I hope to meet in the next 48 hours, one of them is Irish,”
Keane said last night.
“I’ve been linked with about 70 players since I took the job, they are two players that did very well for me at Sunderland.”
Keane did accept that he could face difficulty attracting both men to Portman Road, where his team have been installed as fourth favourites to win the Championship next season.
Whitehead, Sunderland’s captain last season, has been targeted by numerous clubs in the past year and there were claims that he was looking to move closer to his southern roots.
And Murphy, an Irishman who was a regular squad player under Keane, was always one of those most likely to move on following the installation of Bruce.
The problem, however, is that both men remain under contract at the Stadium of Light and they might be reluctant to step down from the Premier League.
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