Cats target Hunt ready to quit Royals

Jul 4 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

LONG-STANDING Sunderland transfer target Stephen Hunt has conceded he would not be able to turn down a move to a Premier League club this summer.

Roy Keane sanctioned three separate bids for Hunt (pictured left) during the January transfer window, but failed to persuade Reading to part with the Republic of Ireland midfielder.

At the time, Hunt made no secret of his admiration for Keane, or how flattered he was by Sunderland’s interest in him, but that was still not enough to tempt Reading boss Steve Coppell to part with the left winger while the Royals still had a chance of avoiding relegation.

However, with that battle lost and with Hunt already making noises about wanting to return to the top flight, the Black Cats will be ready to pounce again, although they will not be offering as much as the £5m they bid just seven months ago.

Hunt chose his words carefully yesterday so as not to upset Reading supporters still smarting at their team’s return to the Championship, but the 26-year-old has effectively given the green light for clubs to bid for him.

“I’ve completely switched off from all the speculation over the last three or four weeks,” said Hunt, a Manchester United fan who idolised Keane as a youngster. “I work on the basis that if anything is going to happen, I will be informed. If nothing does happen then I will make sure I am ready to play for Reading.

“But every Reading player wants to play in the Premier League, and that’s the truth.

“Don’t get me wrong, players are happy here, but if anybody said they do not want to play in the Premier League they’d be lying.

“Personally, I love it around here. It’s a great area to live in, we’ve got a terrific manager in Steve Coppell and the fans are superb.

“It’s a short career and I think fans would appreciate it more if players were more honest about these things.

“Supporters aren’t stupid and it makes more sense if they know what’s going on.”

Meanwhile, Sunderland’s back-up keeper Marton Fulop has publicly expressed his desire to sign for newly-promoted Stoke City because of his growing frustration at the lack of first-team football under Keane.

The Journal revealed last month that Fulop wanted to move to the Britannia Stadium and the Hungarian international has decided to try to force a move after the Black Cats turned down a bid of around £1m for him last week.

Fulop, who spent a short time on loan in the Potteries last season, has only started six games for Sunderland since a move from Tottenham Hotspur 18 months ago, but he would be first-choice at Stoke. He said: “I can confirm that Stoke City want to sign me. The talks are going very well.

“If everything goes well then my future will be decided in the next two weeks. I do want to leave Sunderland in order to have first-team football.”

However, another Black Cats fringe player, Ross Wallace, has turned down the chance of a move to Preston North End to fight for his place on Wearside.

Preston chairman Derek Shaw said: “I can confirm we made an offer for Ross Wallace which was accepted by the Sunderland board.

“However, we have received word back that Ross wants to fight for his place in the Sunderland side in the hope of maintaining his status as a Premier League footballer, which we can fully understand.”