Bruce: Cana can be a big hit

Jul 25 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

STEVE Bruce is thrilled to have landed his third signing of the summer as he predicted Lorik Cana will prove to be a massive hit at Sunderland.

Bruce admitted last night he never thought he would actually get the chance to sign the former Marseille captain, who has cost £5m and signed a four-year contract.

Despite the arrival of the 25-year-old midfielder, Bruce has also not given up hope of persuading his former club Wigan to allow Lee Cattermole to move back to the North East. But for now, Bruce was happy to praise Cana for the manner in which the Albanian (pictured right) has conducted himself during the negotiations.

He said: “He’s highly competitive, he’s a leader and everything I really like in a player. I was fortunate enough to see him play twice against Liverpool in the Champions League last season having being tipped off about him.

“But I never thought I would get the chance to go and sign him. To get him to come to us is fantastic.

“We met his father last night and he wanted everything to be done in 24 hours.

“That is really refreshing in this day and age and shows how much he wanted to come and play for Sunderland.

“I’m sure he will be a huge addition to the Sunderland team.”

With Dean Whitehead joining Stoke City for £3m yesterday, Bruce will turn his attention back to Cattermole, while also hoping chairman Niall Quinn can agree a fee with Bordeaux for Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh and Spurs for Darren Bent.

“I don’t want to upset Wigan because I hate talking about another team’s players,” said Bruce. “However, we have not given up on signing Lee Cattermole.

“We’re still in the market for some quality players and Lee is one of those.

“Dean Whitehead has joined Stoke so we need to replace him, it’s important we fill his shoes as quickly as we can, so we shall see what happens.

“The centre of midfield is a position we are short in. However, if Wigan do not want to sell we will have to respect that.”