Marton Fulop plays down talk of Villa move

Dec 4 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

MARTON Fulop has played down talk of him making a move to Aston Villa although he warned he will not be content to be second choice at Sunderland for long.

Fulop is set for an extended stay in the Black Cats starting line as Craig Gordon will be missing until at least the end of January with the broken arm suffered against Tottenham Hotspur last month.

But the Hungarian international fears he will be pushed straight back on to the substitute’s bench when Gordon eventually recovers and he admits he is no longer content with that role in the team.

Although the 26-year-old does not expect rumoured interest from Villa to come to anything in the January transfer window, he would be tempted by a move to another club if they offered him first choice status.

He said: “Neither Craig Gordon nor myself is satisfied with being second-choice, we are much more ambitious than that. If you are sitting on the bench a lot, then it is normal to want to move on.

“I am no exception. I’ve already proven my quality in the Premier League, so it would not be enough for me to be a substitute in the future.

“I don’t like commenting on gossip and as far as I am aware there has been no official approach. But if it is true, this would not be the first time my name has been linked with Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill.

“Aston Villa have two good goalkeepers at the moment, and I have a contract at Sunderland until 2012, but if Martin O’Neill says he wants me then I will take it very seriously.”

Trying to keep two quality top goalkeepers happy is a tricky task for any manager, although Bruce has at least been able to offer both Gordon and Fulop first team football this season.