Buckley Heads To Leeds

It's emerged that Sunderland have struck a deal which sees Will Buckley head to Leeds United on an emergency loan. Although Buckley will train with his new teammates this week, the agreement won't formally be actioned until after the Yorkshire side's game against Birmingham on 3^rd October.

This allows Buckley to remain at Elland Road until after the hectic Christmas schedule with the relevant Football League rules only allowing a player to stay with the club for a 93 day period.

The 25-year-old winger signed for the Black Cats in 2014 for a fee believed to be around £2.5mil and has struggled to establish himself as a Premier League player during his 22 appearances. Frankly, he won't be too much of a miss. His endeavour can't be questioned but he is far better suited to the Championship based on his performances while on Wearside.

Brighton has proved to be his most successful spell with 19 goals scored over 3 seasons and he was clearly a recommendation of Gus Poyet's who coached the former Watford man during his tenure with the Seagulls.

That form has certainly not been replicated at Sunderland and he has failed to appear in any match day squad so far this season.  A move away from the Black Cats appeared to have been on the cards earlier in the summer transfer window but failed to materialise with rumours of Leeds being unwilling to match Buckley's reported £20k per week salary.  Whatever obstacles were in place now appear to have been overcome as the deal has been concluded.