Marton Fulop plays down talk of Villa move

Dec 4 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Whether he can continue to perform a delicate balancing act long term remains to be seen and Fulop’s comments suggest he could agitate for a move in the summer.

Meanwhile, Martyn Waghorn has indicated he wants to stay on loan at Leicester City rather than return to Sunderland in January following a successful start to the season at the Walkers Stadium.

Waghorn has been a big hit in the Midlands and is a key figure in a Foxes side which has mounted an unexpected promotion push in the Championship, just one year after playing in Coca Cola League One.

And that is likely to prompt Leicester into asking to retain his services until the end of the season, a prospect the 19-year-old would not be disagreeable with as he thrives on regular first team football away from Wearside.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has been delighted with the reports he has received from his Leicester counterpart Nigel Pearson and must weigh up whether to call Waghorn back next month and potentially stunt his growth in the reserves, or leave him where he is and run the risk of being light on cover if either David Healy or Daryl Murphy is sold in January.

And, if it was up to Waghorn, who has scored four goals in 18 games – of which only five have been starts – it seems the teenager would prefer to stay where he is to try and help Leicester win promotion back to the Premier League.

“I’m really happy here and the club has been great,” said Waghorn, who made his debut for the Black Cats against Manchester United on Boxing Day 2007. “My girlfriend is down here with me and I’ve got family not too far away, too. I’m having a great time.

“Steve Bruce gave me a ring earlier in the season to see how it was going and I could technically get called back, but we will see what happens in the New Year.

“I’m really enjoying my time here because I’m starting games and scoring goals and they are a good set of lads. If we can carry on winning at home and push for victories away from the Walkers then we have a great chance of staying in the play-off places.”