Sunderland boss Steve Bruce uncertain over contract talks with injury plagued Craig Gordon
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce admitted he was not in a position to offer goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Scotland-c756 international had since joining the English Premier League club in 2007.
After transferring to the Stadium of Light for a fee of £9 million from Hearts, Gordon has not had too much luck with injuries. He is expected to return from a successful knee injury sometime next month, but Bruce was unable to guarantee his fitness to the management.
Gordon is considered a liability more than anything, which is why Sunderland have not yet offered to hold contract talks with him even though his current contract expires at the end of this season, making him a free agent.
Bruce revealed he was facing a dilemma over Gordon’s contract, especially since the club had paid a sizeable amount to sign him. The English manager revealed he was still uncertain on the contract and would decide once Gordon returned next month.
Bruce said while speaking to reporters:
“It's a horrible dilemma that we face as a club, because we paid £9m for him, but he's probably been injured for two of the three years that he's been here.
That's a big problem for us. We hope he has the resilience to get back. I certainly think he has. If he gets himself back on the pitch, we can address the situation from there.”
Into his fifth season at the club, Gordon has made just 94 appearances in all competitions, with just 15 appearances from last season. Simon Mignolet is currently occupying the number one spot and has put in some impressive performances.
It seems highly unlikely that Gordon will be able to reclaim his spot as first choice stopper from Mignolet when he returns. Bruce said he was willing to wait and see if the Scottish goalkeeper had improved his fitness before starting contract talks.
He continued:
“At the moment, I really don't think I can be starting contract negotiations. If I'm being honest with him, I'm not in that position yet and we won't be until we see him back fit and raring to go.”
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