Steve Bruce still looking for Kenwyne Jones replacement
Aug 27 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
When Kenwyne Jones was sold to Stoke City it was only sanctioned by Steve Bruce on the provision he would be given the money to spend on a replacement. Chief Sports Writer Luke Edwards argues that still has to be the case
STEVE Bruce is walking nervously along a transfer tightrope following the sale of Kenwyne Jones – and Ellis Short is the man in charge of the safety net.
If Jones is replaced with Rennes’ Ghana international Asamoah Gyan before the close of the transfer window, Bruce will be satisfied with what he has been able to do in the market.
If he can also persuade his American paymaster to part with the cash to sign Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan, Sunderland’s manager will be absolutely thrilled with the improvements he has made over the course of another busy summer at the Stadium of Light.
However, if the signing of N’Zogbia is the luxury purchase every manager would love to make to improve their side, the signing of Gyan is the must-have buy every manager needs to ensure survival.
When Bruce parted with Jones he did so with certain assurances from those who control the purse strings that he would be given the money to spend on a replacement.
Those assurances have not evaporated in the last two weeks but with Rennes playing hard ball in their negotiations, and with Stoke paying in instalments of £2m rather than cash up front, these are increasingly uncertain times for Bruce.
On one hand, he understands the club’s need to get the best possible deal in place and their refusal to pay extortionate fees – on the other he knows it will be he who ultimately suffers if the deal collapses because of their refusal to meet the asking price.
If Gyan – who is valued at £10m by Rennes – does not fill the gap left by the sale of Jones, Bruce will be short of physical presence up front and lacking the type of player Darren Bent thrived alongside last season.
It is a double hit he may not be strong enough to take at this stage of a Sunderland project still in its infancy.
After pumping in so much money over the last two years, Short is keen to tighten the belt just when Bruce is asking him to loosen the purse strings again.
Short has invested a lot of his own personal fortune just to stabilise the club’s finances and to consolidate their place in the Premier League.
Like so many other owners, he must break out in a sweat when he sees how much money Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have spent just to give themselves a shot at European football.
