Steve Bruce could finally get a full-back

Feb 1 2010 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

HAVING spent the entire transfer window searching for a right-back, Sunderland could sign two in the final 24 hours of trading.

Alan Hutton was on Wearside yesterday ahead of what is expected to be a deadline-day move. But the Black Cats denied reports in some quarters late last night that a £2m deal had been agreed for Egyptian Ahmed Al-Muhammadi, who helped his country win the Africa Cup of Nations yesterday.

With no signings other than free agents possible after 5pm today, they will certainly be hoping to parade Hutton before tonight’s televised game at home to Stoke City.

Manager Steve Bruce has identified it as the first of two successive home matches which could be pivotal to the Black Cats’ season. But also occupying his mind has been the need to sign cover for the full-back positions.

Sunderland have already failed with bids for Guy Demel, Habib Beye and Maynor Figueroa, and yesterday were linked with Crystal Palace’s Nathaniel Clyne, Burnley’s Tyrone Mears and Roma’s Marco Motta. Instead Hutton will be asked to provide competition to Phil Bardsley.

Hutton was strongly linked with the Wearsiders in the last transfer window, when a swap for Anton Ferdinand was mooted, and again when it reopened in the New Year. But Bruce’s interest was thought to have cooled as he pursued Demel and Beye.

Now it seems Hutton will be the latest in a long line of players to move from White Hart Lane to the Stadium of Light in recent seasons, for a fee in the region of £3.5m.