Roker Report's Sunderland AFC Transfer Deadline Day Primer

Ah hello there everyone, and welcome to the Roker Report if this happens to be your first visit, we hope you enjoy your stay!

Well, it's August 31st, which means the transfer window will come to a grand finale in a few hours time, and to be honest, aren't we all a little glad as we hope that our better players stay, the crappier one's go, and generally we spend the whole day glued to Sky Sports News, thankful they have ad-breaks so we can drink a beverage to ease the nerves, or change our underwear. Perhaps both.

Now on Roker Report, we don't comment on the site on spurious rumour or anything we haven't verified from our sources, and even on days like today we won't be doing that. Once something is confirmed by either club, or a reputable outlet, we might call it concrete and make our comment. Apart from this article anyway.

So where do Sunderland stand on deadline day? Let us introduce you with a little primer of who might come, who might go, and so on...

Well the one closest to being confirmed is Anton Ferdinand's move to QPR. Ferdi has been very solid this season so far, and has merited his recent starting berth, but with a year left on his apparent £40k per week contract coming to an end soon, and an offer on the table we'd be foolish not to take it. We wish him all the best as and when that's confirmed. The fee will no doubt remain undisclosed, but is rumoured to be around £1.5m

Whilst it's not close, it's certainly rumored without a whole lot of substance and spread like wildfire - Asamoah Gyan leaving to go to either Galatasary or Trabzonspor in Turkey. I'm hoping to God I'm right here, but it does seem like rumour-mongering in the highest order. Here's why I think so... First of all he is away in Ghana for a AFCON Qualifier. It's unlikely he'll be allowed to leave the camp today with an important game on Friday, and Ghana simply don't have the medical facilities to run a thorough medical in the country. Next of all, he's never indicated he wants to leave, and barring a few knuckleheads, I think we all want him to stay. Perhaps the only nugget of truth in the story is his agent and reknown nob, Fabien Piveteau is in Turkey at the moment. Piveteau also represents several other players however, including the out of favour Sulley Muntari & John Mensah, who are much more likely to move on from their clubs.

Whether Gyan stays or goes, it seems a new striker is on his way either way, and the list of names starts with the biggest, literally, in Spurs striker Peter Crouch. Depending on who you believe a £10m bid has been placed and either agreed or rejected. We've not heard either way. £10m seems very steep for a player of his age and caliber, so I think whilst there might be an element of truth, all in all it seems unlikely.

Perhaps, and more preferably for me, would be Crouch's fellow teammate Roman Pavlychenko, who has stated this morning that he wants to force through a transfer, and has spoke of our interest in him. If we could get someone like that on loan (given the short time frame we have to work with) I'd be delighted.

Next on the list would be Wolfsburg striker Patrick Helmes. I'm not gonna lie, I know nowt about the fella, but one would assume that Brucey has done his homework as sources in Germany claim a deal has been agreed.

Whilst in Germany, there's also the possibility that we'll look into Papiss Demba Cisse of Freiburg. This also seems unlikely with his Senegal being all but officially qualified for the AFCON in January, leaving is short for a month or two once again. Fee's believed to be over £10m.

Who knows though, this could all be true, it could all be hokey. Perhaps new names will enter the frame and surprise us all, or we'll be surprised that nothing at all happens. This is why we love and hate today in equal measure. I think.

Whatever the outcome though, you can be sure to find the latest and best reaction and analysis to any incoming and outgoing right here on Roker Report. Michael Graham will be manning the decks to keep you covered throughout the day, so be sure to keep your eyes firmly fixed on our Twitter feed - @RokerReport for the latest updates.

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