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Reports emerged last night that claimed Sunderland have agreed a £1.5m deal to sign Jordon Mutch from Cardiff City.
According to the report in the Daily Mail, Mutch was not keen to drop back down to the Championship after Cardiff were relegated at the end of the season and Sunderland moved quickly to agree a deal for the 22-year-old central midfielder.
The reported fee of £1.5m looks too good to be true but with Mutch only having one year left on his contract and Cardiff recently being relegated, it's possible the Welsh club have accepted a knock-down fee to prevent the player leaving on a free transfer next summer.
Mutch played 37 games in all competitions during the 2013-14 season and was Cardiff's top scorer with seven goals, while also chipping in with eight assists, an impressive return for a central midfielder in a newly promoted team that struggled at the wrong end of the table all season.
Due to the source of the rumour, a large pinch of salt is probably needed but Mutch himself ticks all the boxes for Sunderland this season. Experience in the Premier League, his best years still ahead of him, available for a relatively cheap fee and he plays in a position that Sunderland are very light in at this moment of time, with Craig Gardner joining West Brom, Ki Sung-Yueng's loan deal expiring and questions mark still lingering over the futures of Jack Colback and Seb Larsson.
Should this transfer go through, it will represent another sensible, if unspectacular signing, after Billy Jones and Jordi Gomez and will further add to the start of our quietly impressive rebuild under Gus Poyet and Lee Congerton.
Stay tuned to Roker Report throughout the summer as we keep you up to date with this and all other transfer news and rumours. Also, feel free to keep in touch with our dedicated Transfer Centre, which you can do by CLICKING HERE.
