Roker Roundup: Premier League managers asked about interest in Sunderland star man Josh Maja

Defoe completes Rangers move

After completing the pre-contract moves for Glen Kamara and Jordan Jones on Saturday - both of whom had recently been linked with a move to Sunderland - Rangers completed an 18-month loan deal for former Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe.

Defoe had been struggling for playing time with Bournemouth and has agreed a move to Ibrox where he will link up with former England team-mate Steven Gerrardm, who was delighted to sign the 36-year-old:

I’m delighted to be able to welcome Jermain to Rangers. He is an exceptionally talented striker and vastly experienced footballer who has scored goals at every club he has played for.

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Premier League managers discuss Maja

Josh Maja has been linked with a whole host of clubs since he rejected Sunderland’s latest contract offer on Friday, with the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough all being linked with the striker.

Premier League outfit Huddersfield Town have also been rumoured to be interested in Maja but, speaking after the FA Cup defeat at Bristol City, the Terriers manager David Wagner did not want to answer when the Sunderland forward’s name was mentioned as a possible target:

I don’t like to discuss any individuals because we will then maybe sit here for a longer period.

Wagner did admit that they may be able to bring in players during the window but had to take into account their financial status:

I have no idea, we will have to see.

Everybody knows the circumstances we have at our football club - that we financially are not at the top of the hierarchy.

We will see what we can make happen and what we cannot make happen.

Former England manager and current Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson did discuss Maja more in depth than Wagner but bizarrely claimed he had not even heard of the striker:

I’ve never heard of him. I don’t follow Sunderland and his name has not been mentioned to me, I’m not going to stand here and answer questions about individuals and names.

The fact is it’s not my job to scout players. I’m sure if you ask our scouting department and our head of scouting about Josh Maja, he would tell you chapter and verse about him. But no one has mentioned his name to me, I don’t spend my time watching Sunderland play.

Sunderland owner Stewart Donald will be on the Roker Rapport podcast later today to discuss Maja’s status - amongst other things - and you will be able to listen to the interview in full this afternoon.

Follow us on Twitter and subscribe on iTunes, Acast, Spotify and YouTube to listen to the podcast for free as soon as it’s available.

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Barnsley interested in Nelson

Andrew Nelson’s successful loan spell with Darlington is due to expire on Wednesday, with his spell at the Quakers seeing the young striker getting much needed game time and notching six goals in his month long loan spell.

Although Darlington manager Tommy Wright hopes to keep the striker, the loan was initially just for a month to help the player regain fitness after a spell on the sidelines with another loan deal further up the league ladder in mind once the Darlington spell was over.

According to the Sunderland Echo, Sunderland’s League One rivals Barnsley are interested in signing the striker and have been keeping tabs on the 21-year-old.

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