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GORDON KEEN ON ITALY

The former Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon is currently in talks with the Italian club Udinese over a potential move to the Italian Serie A. The Scotland international has been without a club for the last couple of months after not being offered a new contract by Sunderland.

Craig Gordon was expected to be one of the next big things from Scotland after he was signed by the former Sunderland manager Roy Keane for a British transfer record fee for the goalkeeper at £ 9 million. However, he has suffered a number of injury problems the last few seasons, which have raised a lot of questions over his future.

The current Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill decided not to extend the contract of the 30-year-old Scotland international, who needs regular playing time in order to get back to his best. He has been looking for a new club to move prior to the start of the new season.

The agent of the goalkeeper has confirmed that his client is currently negotiating a deal with the Italian club Udinese and he expects a good decision to come about in the next couple of days, though there have been rumours he would be appearing in an arsenal t-shirt next season.

Craig Gordon has been linked with a return to Scotland, but it seems that he is looking for an international club.

Meanwhile, the former Sunderland midfielder Steed Malbranque is about to come back from his retirement with the French club Lyon. “It is very clear with Steed. Olympique Lyon want to know where he is to see if there is an opportunity. For now we’re at the stage of observation – we’ll see if it goes well. Steed is a player that we know – he has a lot of maturity and kept his qualities. Then again, he needs to regain his rhythm after a season without playing,” said the Lyon manager.

A GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has said that the friendly match against the United States of America is a great opportunity for him to find a new club.

The goalkeeper was recently released by his club Sunderland after he failed to impress manager Martin O’Neill with his fitness in the final few matches of the campaign. The goalkeeper has been struggling with a lot of injuries in the last few seasons. Despite being the British record transfer signing for a goalkeeper at £ 9 million, Sunderland have decided to not extend his contract. Gordon is now searching for a new club in the Premier league or back in Scotland.

Craig Gordon’s last appearance for the national team came in 2010 when he kept a clean sheet in the 3-0 win over Faroe Islands. Injuries and competition for places have meant that he will be returning back to international fold after a gap of more than two years. Gordon, though, sees this as a perfect opportunity to impress the scouts. This would in turn helped him get a new club before the start of the new season. The former Hearts goalkeeper came to Sunderland for fee of £ 9 million back in 2007.

“I’m looking forward to it. Having not played a great deal of football this season, it’s a chance to finish the season by showing people that I’m ready to play and hopefully I’ll get some time on the park out here. I think everyone is aware of my contract situation with Sunderland so it’s quite an important trip for me to show anybody who is watching that I’m ready to play,” said Craig Gordon ahead of the friendly match with USA on Saturday. Scotland have been preparing for their World Cup qualifiers by conducting a training camp in the USA.

GYAN MIGHT STAY IN UAE

Middle East club Al Ain have expressed their conference at being able to make the signing of former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan permanent in the summer. The 26-year-old Ghanaian moved to the United Arab Emirates on the final day of the transfer window. It was the transfer that sparked a longer running feud with him and the then manager Steve Bruce, who was ultimately sacked by the club. Steve Bruce accused Asamoah Gyan of putting money in front of football, but the Ghanaian replied that he was taking the decision purely on footballing terms.

It was initially revealed that Asamoah Gyan was moving to the UAE on a season long loan deal, but has now turned out that the club are looking at the possibility of signing the Ghanaian permanently. He has been a major success in the Middle East. He has been able to score 22 goals in all competitions for the club, which has propelled them to the Championship. It was only a few weeks ago that Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill acknowledged that it will be difficult to see Gyan returning to Sunderland in the near future. It is thought that Al Ain and Sunderland have a deal in place whereby the UAE club can make his signing permanent for a transfer fee of £ 2.8 million.

“I’m very confident that he will be staying. He has indicated on a number of occasions that he would like to remain at the club. There is a loan agreement that we need to work out with Sunderland, but what is really important is that the player wants to be here and we would like to keep him. So now it’s about working out the logistics of a transfer,” Al Ain chief executive Carlo Nohra told Sport360° regarding the future of Asamoah Gyan.

NEW CONTRACT?

Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he is looking at the possibility of awarding a new contract to goalkeeper Craig Gordon if he proves that he is capable of playing at the top level.

The 29-year-old moved to the Stadium of light in a £ 9 million deal, which made him one of the expensive British goalkeepers at the time. Roy Keane was the manager who signed Craig Gordon from Rangers. However, the Scotland international has been faced by a number of injury problems in the last couple of years. His injury problem this season has been so poor that he has not been able to represent Sunderland in the Premier league game.

However, Martin O’Neill has revealed that he will look at the possibility of providing Craig Gordon, whose contract will come to an end at the end of the season, with a new deal. In order to do so, Martin O’Neill has stressed that Gordon should prove himself in the remaining Premier league matches. Since Sunderland do not have anything to play for in the rest of the season, O’Neill revealed that he will be handing Gordon his first start of the season shortly. In his absence, Westwood has been the number one choice for both Steve Bruce and O’Neill.

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GORDON AIMING FOR NUMBER 1 SPOT

Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has said that he wants his first-team place back from current goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has been the first choice at Sunderland due to the number of injuries suffered by the Scotland international. The 29-year-old Scotland international was one of the expensive goalkeepers in the history of the Premier league, as he cost a massive £ 9 million for Sunderland a few seasons ago. He arrived from financially troubled Rangers in a move that was finalised by former Sunderland manager Roy Keane.

However, his time at the Stadium of light has always been beleaguered by a number of injury problems, which have meant that Craig Gordon has been able to make only a few hundred appearances in the number of years he has spent in the north-east of England. Craig Gordon was finally back in action for Sunderland recently, as manager Martin O’Neill included him in the squad as has the substitute for Simon Mignolet. Following the match against Newcastle, Craig Gordon said that he is looking to claim his first-team place back from Simon Mignolet in the next few weeks. Craig Gordon was also playing at the international level after he was included in the Scotland squad for the friendly against Slovenia recently.

“I’ll be doing everything I can between now and the end of the season to try to get back in the team. It’s up to me to train hard, put some pressure on and prove that I am ready to start playing again. If I can keep my performance level up in training as I have been over the last few days, I will be knocking on the door and looking to try and get a starting slot,” Craig Gordon said in an interview given after the match. Sunderland are only a few points behind the top six in the table.