Report: Sunderland Open Talks With Italian

It's been a busy few weeks for Sunderland in the transfer market, with five players being released, numerous players being linked and the likes of Cabral, Roberge, Diakite and Ba reportedly agreeing to join Sunderland on Bosman free transfers. Today we have a new name to add to the potential incomings, in the form of Siena's Alessandro Rosina.

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, talks have already begun between Rosina's entourage and intermediaries of Sunderland to bring the former Zenit St. Petersburg player to the Stadium of Light. The report even suggests that there will be good news for Rosina in the next few days.

Rosina is a 29-year-old left-footed attacking midfielder by trade but who can also play out wide, up front and in central midfield. He started his career with Parma but struggled to make his mark with them and it wasn't until a loan spell with Hellas Verona that he found success.

After his success at Verona, he moved to Torino where he became a vital part of the team and his performances earned him the captain's armband and the nickname Rosinaldo, due to his flair. He stayed at the Turin based side until 2009 when he moved to Zenit for a fee of €7m after Torino's relegation to Serie B.

His time in Russia was a disappointment from the start, with Dick Advocaat, then Zenit manager, claiming he was unhappy with Rosina's signing and that he had been signed by the Sporting Director Igor Korneev. He struggled to get into the starting line up in his three years at Zenit, due to tough competition, and had an unsuccessful loan spell at Cesena before he was eventually sold to Siena in August of last year.

It was at Siena that he recaptured the form he had shown earlier in his career with Torino, however it wasn't enough and he was unable to save the club from relegation to Serie B, which in turn led to rumours about the player leaving the Bianconeri.

If Rosina does sign for Sunderland, it will be interesting to see what that means for Stephane Sessegnon, considering they play the same position. Would he be coming in as competition for Sessegnon or would it just increase the rumours about Sessegnon wanting a return to France? Either way, if the report is correct and there will be good news for Rosina in the next few days, we might not have to wait too long to find out.