O'Neill: Saha Free To Leave Sunderland

When Louis Saha arrived at the club in the summer the majority of fans saw it as a good thing. Of course there were skeptics who thought (and were ultimately right) that he was a spent force, but many saw him as having the ability to contribute say five to eight goals as a bit-part player, as well as being someone who can contribute to the team on the training ground.

It would appear that the cons have significantly outweighed the pros of signing Saha, as today Martin O'Neill told the Sunderland Echo that Saha is free to leave the club;

As of today, we have told Louis is free to speak to other clubs and to leave if he can fix himself up somewhere.

We have come to an agreement whereby we will cancel the remainder of his contract, shake hands and go our separate ways.

That said, we are still a bit short in terms of numbers and Louis may stay with us until the end of the month until such time as - hopefully - we have strengthened the squad a little more.

But we agreed that he could go as early as today, if he wishes to.

I have heard that there is some interest in South Africa for Louis and it might be of some interest to him.

It's been clear for some time that Saha can't cut it in the Premier League any more with him making the absolute minimum in terms of impact when he has come on as a substitute.

Things have been on the slide for him for a while now as over the past few months he's not even been named among the substitutes - time was clearly up.

It's fitting with Saha's character though that he has appeared to be willing to cancel his deal without pay-off. Several who have spoke to him or have read his very interesting autobiography will know he's a classy guy, and clearly he's willing to accept his limitations.

It's also noteworthy that O'Neill stress' he's looking to sign a new striker to replace Saha, with Swansea's Danny Graham firmly on the club's radar.