Right-backs 'too pricey' for Sunderland
RIGHT-backs Habib Beye and Guy Demel are in danger of pricing themselves out of moves to Sunderland.
The two players still feature on Sunderland's radar – Demel, despite his suggestion last week that he was happy to stay at Hamburg – but unless the wage demands of either player drop significantly, then no move will take place.
Bruce has been desperately to improve his full-back options in the January transfer window, but with time running out looks likely to be frustrated on all fronts.
Wigan Athletic have all but slammed the door shut on a move for long-term target Maynor Figueroa – boss Roberto Martinez describing the offers received in the window for the Honduran international as "insulting".
Now it is believed the Latics have chosen to hold on to the left-back rather than drop their asking price below the 7m mark.
Sunderland had hoped for more joy on the right-back front, where it looked as though Bruce would be faced with a straight choice between the Premier League experience but veteran status of 32-year-old Villa defender Beye, or the relative youth but inexperience of Hamburg's Guy Demel.
Sunderland thought the Bundesliga defender was beyond their grasp because of his involvement in the African Nations Cup, and Demel himself thought a move would not go through, signalling he was happy to stay at his current club despite the chance of a lucrative increase in salary coming to Sunderland.
But the Ivory Coast's earlier-than-expected exit from the tournament at the quarter-final stage raised the prospect that the move could take place.
Sunderland could not carry out a medical on Demel while he was still involved in the tournament in Angola – and if the Ivory Coast had gone all the way to the final it would have meant him remaining in Africa until at least Sunday, meaning Sunderland would have almost certainly run out of time to complete a deal.
Sunderland moved into a position of being able to hold meaningful talks with the player after his country's exit, and Hamburg would not stand in the way of any potential move.
But such developments will be academic if the representatives of Demel, like Beye, continue to make unrealistic wage demands.
As things stand, neither player looks likely to move to Wearside.
But in crazy, mad world of the January transfer market, things can change dramatically in the space of an hour, let alone a day.
What hasn't changed is Sunderland's need to bring in more bodies if possible.
With right-back Phil Bardsley currently out of action with a hamstring problem, Sunderland have no specialist cover for that position,
although centre-backs John Mensah, Paulo Da Silva, Nyron Nosworthy and Anton Ferdinand can all fill in.
Mensah and Da Silva can also operate at left-back in the absence of Kieran Richardson, but as things stand, Bruce only has the injury-prone George McCartney to call upon a specialist left-back.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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