Sheffield United still hope to sign Nyron Nosworthy

Jun 22 2010 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

SHEFFIELD United have not given up hope of signing Sunder-land defender Nyron Nosworthy.

Under Roy Keane the Black Cats’ squad became ridiculously bloated as a result of the Irishman’s habit of signing players then apparently losing faith in them. It is a legacy Steve Bruce is still trying to deal with, a task new Premier League rules give greater urgency to.

From next season squads will be limited to 25 senior players, increasing the pressure on the Wearsiders to deal with the unwanted players they have accumulated in recent seasons.

With Argentinian right-back Marcos Angeleri expected to arrive as soon as he can obtain an Italian passport, centre-half Heiko Westermann mulling over a move from Schalke 04 and a left-back also on Bruce’s shopping list, defender Nosworthy (far left) will be too far down Sunderland’s pecking order next season to justify his wages.

But the housekeeping has been made harder by Sunderland’s recent habit of handing long and generous contracts to players before writing them out of their future plans.

Nosworthy’s deal is threatening to price him out of a move to Bramall Lane, as Sheffield United have made clear.

The versatile defender signed

a new three-year contract in October, only for Bruce to decide shortly after that he was surplus to requirements.

Blades manager Kevin Blackwell last week appeared to throw the towel in on his attempts to sign Nosworthy, but sources in South Yorkshire believe his words were carefully chosen to ramp up the pressure on the Wearsiders to agree a compromise.

Nosworthy made 19 appearances on loan last season and Blackwell made clear he wanted to sign the Londoner permanently. The 29-year-old is understood to be prepared to take a pay cut for the move to happen, but Sunderland want a fee for the player they signed for free from Gillingham in 2005.