SAFC TransferWipe: Moyes' British Isles Rebuild - Scottish, English & Irish Targets Named

Rumour: Sunderland To Fight Rangers For Young Scottish Midfielder

Our brethren and bedfellows north of the border, Rangers site GotTheBattleFeverOn.com, have reported that Sunderland will battle the Ibrox giants for the signature of Motherwell midfielder, Chris Cadden.

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The Rangers website reports that well-connected sources in Glasgow have suggested David Moyes is lining up against The Gers, as well as West Ham and Derby County, to sign the 20-year-old who made his debut for Motherwell eighteen months ago. The rumours are little more than forum talk at present, but our Scottish counterparts tell us that the originator of the discussion has some form for decent info.

The Evening Chronicle have also reported the link, but it's likely from the same source.

Cadden was named in the Scotland under-21 squad for the first time in the summer and has played in two qualifiers for the European Championships; though the finals set to take place in Poland next summer will most likely to be devoid of Scottish interest.

A product of Motherwell's academy, which also produced former-Sunderland attacker James McFadden, his rhyming name-sake - Cadden - has made fifteen appearances in the SPL this season with a goal to his name. He signed a new contract with the Scottish club in the summer to keep him at Fir Park until 2019.

Motherwell are currently managed by former Newcastle stalwart Mark McGhee and are struggling towards the foot of the Scottish Premiership this season. That said, McGhee is attempting to fashion his side into one built on young, hungry prospects in an ethos which mirrors the rhetoric of his Sunderland counterpart, David Moyes.

For that reason, Cadden would be an appealing prospect for the Moyes-project at the Stadium of Light - young, British and loaded with promise.

The Englishmen & Irishmen To Go With The Scotsman

And what does the Scotsman have in common with the Englishmen and the Irish men apart from the original stereotyped joke? Allegedly, they've all been monitored by David Moyes in recent weeks.

The link with Scottish prospect, Cadden, couples neatly with last week's rumour that Sunderland have watched two Englishmen recently as well as two Irishmen.

Sunderland's interest in Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, Keiran Lee, was discussed in The Owls press conference last week. Head Coach at Hillsbrough, Carlos Carvalhal, claimed he had "no idea" that his middle-of-the-park linchpin was being watched, but Lee is Moyesian to a tee.

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In fact, if you were to read his biography you would be forgiven for mistaking Keiran Lee with Paddy McNair - both products of the Manchester United youth system, both were developed first as a defender before switching to midfield. You can see why Lee would appeal to Moyes.

But taking the quality up a notch - Arsenal full-back, Carl Jenkinson, has been linked with a move to the Stadium of Light again. The 24-year-old right-back was strongly rumoured to be about to join Sunderland in the summer of 2015 on loan, before opting to stay in London - with a move to West Ham.

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And Daryl Horgan, 24-year-old winger with Dundalk, joins the list along with his Irish compatriot and teammate, Andy Boyle, as British Isles-based transfer links mooted as Moyes targets in recent days.

Can we draw some conclusions from this flurry of home-nations gossip - or as we said at the top - is it just convenient to link David Moyes with British Isles-based players on the basis of his time at Everton?