Roker Roundup: Former targets talk of Sunderland interest & Josh Maja bags a hat-trick

Strikers on blocked Sunderland moves

Two Eastern Bloc strikers have been discussing moves to Sunderland falling through, with former Tottenham Hotspur striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and ex-Dynamo Kiev forward Pavlo Shkapenko both explaining why they did not make the move to Wearside.

Pavlyuchenko was wanted by Steve Bruce in the summer of 2011 but, after the move broke down, Bruce signed Nicklas Bendtner on-loan from Arsenal instead.

Speaking about the deal to Russian reporter Timur Zhuravel on his YouTube channel, Pavlyuchenko explained that he was keen to leave Spurs at the time to ensure he was playing regular football ahead of Euro 2012 but Daniel Levy refused to sanction a move to Sunderland - and Liverpool - as he did not want to strengthen a rival.

The striker explained his position to the Spurs chairman but with Levy replying that he would have to go abroad if he wanted to play:

“So I want to play in the team at Euro 2012. The coach told me that if you don’t play, they won’t call you. Understand me”.

Then there was still talk that Sunderland wanted to loan me, Liverpool loan. He told me that he won’t let me go anywhere in England, because he sees this as a strengthening of the team.

“Then go to Russia or Europe. If you have decided so, then it’s your business.”

Also explaining why a move to Sunderland did not work out was Ukraine international Shkapenko.

The forward was wanted by Peter Reid back in 1996 and the move was so close to happening that he had agreed a £6000 per week contract with the club.

Shkapenko says that although the clubs were struggling to agree a fee, the main reason his transfer to Roker Park fell through was because the incoming head coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi blocked the move from happening:

We had already managed to negotiate the terms of a personal contract - I was supposed to receive 6 thousand pounds a week. Let me remind you that in England they pay salaries every week.

But the transition was prevented by two reasons.

Firstly, the clubs could not agree on my transfer fee. But the main, in my opinion, was the second reason. Lobanovsky had already arrived in Kiev, was preparing to accept the managerial role. Allegedly, he told the club management - Shkapenko is not to be sold.

Photo by Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images

Maja stars in Ligue 1

Josh Maja had a game to remember for Bordeaux last night as the Sunderland academy product scored the first hat-trick of his senior career.

Starting for the third game in a row (his only starts in the league so far this season), Maja showed the kind of finishing that Sunderland fans will remember, scoring three well taken goals to take his tally in the league this season up to five.

That hat-trick saw Bordeaux go 3-0 up against Nimes and another good bit of play from the 20-year-old saw the home side extend their lead to four goals after Maja’s through-ball set Nicolas De Preville for the fourth.

The former Sunderland striker was replaced with 15 minutes to go to a standing ovation from the home crowd before Bordeaux added two final goals.

Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images