Skipper could be leaving the Cats

Jun 16 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

SUNDERLAND captain Dean Whitehead may be the first high-profile casualty of the Steve Bruce era.

The new Sunderland manager is preparing a move for Wigan’s England under-21 midfielder Lee Cattermole – casting fresh doubt over the future of unsettled Whitehead, a long-standing target of Phil Brown at Hull City.

The Tigers boss is on the look-out for midfield reinforcements with top-flight experience and Whitehead – who was the subject of an enquiry from Hull during the January transfer window – is one of “three or four” names on Brown’s hit-list.

And while it remains to be seen whether Bruce’s appointment has changed Whitehead’s thinking over the last fortnight, the midfielder’s friends in the game are convinced that he will leave the club to seek a “fresh challenge” this summer.

The Black Cats skipper is understood to have been unsettled during the January transfer window and spoke to chairman Niall Quinn and then manager Ricky Sbragia about his future.

But with Sunderland in a fight for Premier League survival it was decided that the midfielder would stay put and re-assess his options at the end of the season.

Bruce will not sanction the departure of a senior player like Whitehead without at least speaking to him.

So it is unlikely there will be movement before Sunderland return for pre-season training in early July.

But his interest in Cattermole –cored for England Under-21s last night – hints at a battle ahead for a first-team place for the Black Cats skipper.