Cristian Riveros & Marcos Angeleri look like they're leaving Sunderland this summer. Ok, hardly shocking news as neither has featured too much nor made much of an impact when they have featured, but still the South American pair look on their way after Steve Bruce's latest statements.
Bruce told the Sunderland Echo "It hasn't really worked out as well as I hoped it would do with the South Americans, I thought that all three had the potential to make a real impact over here."
The third being the recently departed Paulo Da Silva, who signed for La Liga side Real Zaragoza in the January transfer window.
It's a bit of a double-edged sword for Sunderland fans, I think we all desperately wanted them to impress and be a success, but there has to come a time where you decide it just isn't going to happen.
Having watched Cristian Riveros take a starring role in Paraguay's World Cup 2010 campaign in South Africa, I along with many other fans thought the boy was going to be a real top player. Classy in possession, the midfielder tended to keep things simple, and we all expected he could be a real lynch-pin in our midfield alongside the bite of Lee Cattermole.
For whatever reason though, it never materialised. The Paraguayan's chances were few and far between in a Sunderland shirt, and he never really impressed. Moments of note came against Arsenal at home where he missed a great chance to notch his first SAFC goal, when it seemed harder to miss. Added to that the ignomy of his half-time withdrawal at Tottenham Hotspur, where we looked a better side without him.
As for Angeleri, we never saw much of the lad. I believe the stat including his start against Notts County in the FA Cup means the Argentine mustered 70-odd minutes of first team action in total.
Now, it would be foolish to write a player off after such little time, but the fact it was over such a long period of time shows that Bruce can't see him making it in the Premier League. In those rare minutes, he looked very much out of his depth, and perhaps a move back to South America would suit him better.
Although Bruce is calling time on South America for the time being, he's canny enough not to totally ignore the continent, however I can't imagine he'll be seeking any more unheralded gems from there any time soon.
Farewell Cristian & Marcos, we hardly knew thee.