Bruce Confirms Bid for Player
Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce, has confirmed that the club have made a bid for an unnamed player.
Bruce confirmed that the club are in talks with another club about the possibility of signing a high profile midfield player ahead of the new Premier League season.
There are very strong rumours that the player could be Stephen Ireland from Manchester City but Bruce is keeping his cards very close to his chest and is refusing to release the name of the player to the media.
If the player is a high profile midfielder then it's important to consider the difference that this will make to the Sunderland team. They are a very unpredictable unit and some solidity in the middle of the pitch would give Sunderland a much better chance of doing well next season.
Benefits
The benefits of bringing in an extra player in midfield would mean that Sunderland have a much larger squad. They have a core group of players who have done very well for the team so far and Bruce is doing very well in getting them to play together and for each other.
It's likely that the player is a very good fringe player at a top club because Sunderland are not able to attract a really big name. However, this is by no means a negative thing. It will allow a player to come in and fit to the Sunderland type of mentality, which is currently being displayed.
Bruce said: "We have got a couple of irons in the fire, we have put a bid in today [Tuesday] for a player. I am not going to tell you who, we hope we can make inroads on it. I would envisage we will get a couple of new faces in before the season starts, I would have thought."
Confusing
It is a little confusing why Bruce is so reluctant to reveal the identity of the player to the media. One reason could be that he may not want any criticism of the possible signing to reflect on him personally.
The more realistic option is that he may not want other clubs to know that a particular player is available. This suggests that the player in question is very good and that if other clubs find out about him then they could poach him from under Sunderland's nose.
Either way it's encouraging to see Bruce so active and vibrant in the transfer market. He has been criticised as a manager for not doing enough off the field to create a better future for the club. He is very hands on and if this possible signing turns out to be a very good one then he'll win more respect for what he does away from the pitch as well.
Betting Advice
Put the news of this unknown player to one side and think about how Sunderland will do next season from this point, without any new additions to the team. They stand a very good chance of getting into the top ten and new arrivals are only going to help that.
This means you can bet on them confidently to do well next season. they do not look like a club that is going to be in trouble at the wrong end of the table for long periods of time.
Obviously you cannot back the possible new player without knowing who he is. The point is that he must be quite good of Bruce is trying so hard to keep things quiet. If the calibre of the players coming does turn out to be very good then you can back them to score a few goals.
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