It has been a slightly odd week in terms of Sunderland gossip. A week for old names to crop up once again and a couple of really strong new ones. Quality gossip over quantity, really.
But first, the formalities.
Valentin Roberge (Maritimo)
Mobido Diakite (Lazio)
Diogo Viana (F.C. Penafiel)
Danny Rose (Tottenham)
Emmanuel Cascione (Pescara)
Danilo D'Ambrosio (Torino)
El Hadji Ba (Le Havre)
Mauro Zarate (Lazio)
Bas Dost (Wolfsburg)
George Mandjeck (Auxerre)
Charlie Austin (Burnley)
Alfred Finnbogason (SC Heerenveen)
Greg Sandomierski (Genk)
Tom Allan (York City)
Salif Sane (Nancy)
Cabral (Basel)
Lucas Orban (Tigre)
Gary Hooper (Celtic)
Fraser Forster (Celtic)
Milos Krasic (Fenerbache)
Wilfried Bony (Vitesse)
Grant Holt (Norwich)
Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa)
Paulinho (Livorno)
Nacho Scocco (Newells)
Reto Ziegler (Juventus)
John Guidetti (Manchester City)
Josuha Guilavogui (Saint-Étienne)
Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli)
Luis Pedro Cavanda (Lazio)
Joseph Alfred Duncan (Inter Milan)
Alessandro Rosina (Siena)
Jonathan Biabiany (Parma)
Benjamin Mendy (Le Havre)
Scott Parker (Tottenham)
Johan Elmander (Galatassaray)
Abel Hernandez (Palermo)
Remi Gomis (Valenciennes)
Matej Vydra (Udinese)
Mejdi Traoui (Espérance de Tunis)
Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar)
Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)
Vito Mannone (Arsenal)
Jérémie Aliadière (Lorient)
Jeroen Zoet (PSV)
For those who are counting, that is 5 new names thrust into the mix, taking the total going into the last week of June to a juicy 45.
To almost universal glee among the supporters, the name of Danny Rose cropped up once again. The left back enjoyed a superb season at Sunderland last term and he could be angling for a return.
That suggestion was made my Michael Bridge of Sky Sports, who tweeted that he had spoken to Danny Rose and he 'wouldn't be surprised to see him return to Sunderland'. The tweet appeared to be deleted shortly afterwards, but he later answered a question asserting that 'he wants to leave Tottenham, that's all I know.'
Twitter is a minefield of misinformation, of course, especially at this time of year, but it can probably be considered credible enough. Bridge is a well-respected journalist and a veritable authority on Spurs with good access to the club.
Heading the list of new names to have entered the fray is that of Jozy Altidore. The American was revealed by The Sunderland Echo as being Sunderland's top summer striking target.
This one seems highly credible. The AZ Alkmaar striker had a torrid time in England with Hull as a teenager three years ago, but has since reinvented himself as a prolific bull of a striker who perfectly fits the Sunderland mold both ideologically and tactically.
Furthermore, the club are known to be scouring the more cash-strapped leagues hoping to pick up bargains, and Altidore's 31 goals in all competitions in Holland were unlikely to have gone unnoticed.
As well as Altidore, two other striker names re-emerged as potential loan targets. The Journal carried an exclusive that an approach had been made - and rejected - for former Watford loanee Matej Vydra, who bagged an impressive 22 goals for the Hornets.
Meanwhile, the Sunderland Echo threw John Guidetti back into the fold, insisting that there was 'genuine' interest to bring the Manchester City forward to Wearside whether it was on loan or a full transfer.
Both links are intriguing as both play upon solid connections with the new recruitment team. Director of Football Roberto De Fanti is Guidetti's former agent, whilst Vydra was taken to Italy by new chief scout Valentino Angeloni during his days with Udinese.
You could see either being true, though both are very easy links to make and with Vydra's agent being especially gushing in his comments to press, I must admit I am more suspicious of that one. Agents rarely give such interviews for the good of their health.
With Simon Mignolet Liverpool-bound, Sunderland are slowly being linked with goalkeepers to replace him in the squad. The Mail tried to insist that Arsenal's Vito Mannone is the man(none) at the top of the list, but it's the Mail so the odds are overwhelming that it is just some idiot playing a game of 'link a random Italian with Sunderland'.
A much more interesting story came from the Dutch press citing Holland under-21 'keeper Jeroen Zoet as a top target. The PSV man has just a year left on his current deal and finds himself somewhat surplus to requirements at the Philips Stadion, so could be available at a knock-down price.
That's your lot for another week. Remember you can keep up with all the stories as they happen via our DEDICATED SUNDERLAND TRANSFER CENTRE.