The Gossip: Quiet Week, But Fresh Names Linked With Sunderland

Last week we started a summer project of trying to keep a weekly updated list of every player that is linked with a move to Sunderland this summer.

No link is too tenuous or obscure to earn an acknowledgement here - except stupid one about Fernando Lorente that was born out of the utter stupidity of one individual with an easily traceable flawed train of thought.

So with all that said and done, lets see who has been linked with the club this week.

Well, the European Championships are in full swing now and the players who are not there tend to be on holiday, so it is no surprise to find very little transfer news around right now. That didn't stop the press taking it upon themselves to register Martin O'Neill's alleged interest in three new names, however.

As it stands, the full list is as follows:

Steven Fletcher (Wolves)
Victor Moses (Wigan)
Stephen Ward (Wolves)
Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow)
Adam Johnson (Manchester City)
John Guidetti (Manchester City)
Wilifred Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)
Karl Henry (Wolves)
Jay Rodriguez (Burnley)
Hassan Hissein (Foullah Edifice)
Manuel Fernandes (Besitkas)
Jorge Fucile (Porto)
Junior Hoilett (Blackburn Rovers)
Robert Huth (Stoke)
Liam Trotter (Millwall)
Mohamed Diame (Wigan)
Carlos Cuellar (Free Agent)
Steven N'Zonzi (Blackburn)
Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson (Lillestrom)
Grant Holt (Norwich)
Jese (Real Madrid Castilla)
Steven Pienaar (Tottenham)
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle)
Joselu (Real Madrid Castilla)
Matt Jarvis (Wolves)
Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea)
Matt Phillips (Blackpool)
Zak Whitbread (Free Agent)
Steven Warnock (Aston Villa)
Moussa Kone (Atalanta)
Ola John (FC Twente)
Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart)
Ola Toivonen (PSV)
Alvaro Vazquez (Espanyol)
Yoan Gouffran (Bordeaux)

So, Toivonen, Vasquez, and Gouffran take our list to an impressive 36 names. I'll be honest and say that I haven't even heard of two of them. Of the previous names linked, Carlos Cuellar and Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson look set to secure moves elsewhere for themselves. Cuellar's agent has revealled there is has been no offer from Sunderland and his client is due to seek further challenges in mainland Europe.

Meanwhile, Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson has been strongly linked with Wolves, though the protracted move seems to be taking it's toll on the Icelandic striker who has claimed that Lillestom's reluctance to sell has left him 'mentally broken'. If a stubborn Norweigian can do that to him, he probably wouldn't fare well under the rollicking the Stadium of Light would undoubtedly give him the first time he lost a header, so we can probably feel quite pleased to see him crossed off the list.

See you next week with more gossip!