Cats keen to spend like the big boys
Aug 14 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
ROY Keane wants to regain Sunderland’s title as the “Bank of England Club” by rivaling the top four in the transfer market.
In the 1950s the Wearsiders were renowned for paying hefty transfer fees and the Irishman would like to see history repeated sooner rather than later.
Saturday’s opponents Liverpool have spent more on a single player in Robbie Keane – £20.3m – than the Black Cats have on their six summer signings. And Rafa Benitez is keen to see Tom Hicks and George Gillett write another eight-figure cheque before the transfer window closes, for either Gareth Barry or David Silva.
Sunderland manager Keane has admitted he would like to be signing players for similarly astronomical fees – and has already shown he has the wherewithal by lodging a bid in the region of £16.5m for Tottenham Hotspur’s Darren Bent.
“Liverpool have spent as much as we did on one player,” he noted. “We’ve been trying. We had a bid turned down not long ago for roughly that type of money so we’re trying to get into that market.
“We were asked if we’re looking to go to the next level and we are. But it’s easier said than done. We are prepared to pay for quality, especially in attacking positions. But as much as we didn’t score enough last year, we conceded too many. It’s not a good combination. Midfield-wise we’re pretty strong but we
need to improve defensively and of course going forward. There are no bids on the table. But that probably will change.”
The Irishman is unashamed about wanting to mix it with the big boys. “I have no problem spending money,” he said. “I’d love to spend that on a player if I thought he’d come in and be quality. People will say it’s easy for me because it’s not my money but I still have pride in what I spend and it reflects on you what you bring in.
“People raise eyebrows at it (the big fees) but that’s the world we live in. They win football matches. You can buy a lot of defensive players and pay big money for them but they’re there to make sure you don’t lose.
“The ones going forward, they’re the difference in the big games. That’s why the Ronaldos, the Robbie Keanes, the Torreses are priceless. If someone guarantees you 20 or 30 goals, my God.”
Despite having consolidated in the Premier League after years of yo-yoing between the top-flight and the Championship, Keane does not think recruitment has been noticeably easier than 12 months ago.
“It’s been tough to attract top players from good clubs,” he said. “This time last year I was trying to sign players from Championship teams. We have made massive progress. Hopefully we’re not finished with that yet. We’re hopeful some deals are going to happen over the next week or two.
“I’ve done a lot of wheeling and dealing and I’ve had great support, not just on the playing side. We’ve got a really good support team now. But it’s still been tough attracting players, these people have got one or two options, especially when they’re quality players.
“I wouldn’t have thought there’d be any new arrivals by Saturday, I’d be very surprised. But it seems to change by the hour with some deals.”
One player Keane appears to have given up on is Jonny Evans, after receiving an e-mail from Manchester United’s chief executive about the player they loaned in the second half of the last two campaigns.
“I wouldn’t have thought we have any chance of getting him back,” said Keane. “If you’d seen the e-mail David Gill sent us, you’d be pretty sure it was going to be hard work.”
Kieran Richardson, Danny Higginbotham and Pascal Chimbonda have all trained this week following minor injuries. The Wearsiders should therefore only be without the injured Dwight Yorke and the suspended Michael Chopra on day one.
ROY Keane will return to Nottingham Forest for the first competitive encounter as a manager after Sunderland were handed a trip to the City Ground in the Carling Cup second round.
Meanwhile, Martyn Waghorn scored a hat-trick as Sunderland Reserves beat Kendal in an amazing pre-season game, coming from 4-1 down to win 9-4.
