Competition for duo
Sunderland completed the signing of Queens Park Rangers midfielder Josh Scowen last night, as the 26-year-old arrived on a permanent deal to become Phil Parkinson’s third signing of the window after Bailey Wright and Kyle Lafferty.
Two other midfielders linked with loan moves to Sunderland recently may not be on the way however, with competition for the duo’s signatures.
Manchester United youngster James Garner had been mentioned as a possible target this week but the 18-year-old is also interesting League One trio Fleetwood Town, Blackpool and Doncaster Rovers as well as Championship outfit Wigan Athletic.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that Manchester United have high hopes for the player but may send him out on loan to gain first-team experience.
Sunderland were also interested in Rangers’ midfielder Greg Docherty and Parkinson admitted a few days ago that the player was an option as he looked to strengthen midfield.
Charlton Athletic appear to have stolen a march though, with the Scottish Sun saying that Lee Bowyer is trying to take advantage of Sunderland and Rangers unable to agree terms.
The report claims that the Charlton manager hopes to tie up the deal before Friday’s deadline, which will see Rangers claim a loan fee as Docherty heads south on-loan.
PSV chasing van Aanholt
Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven are hoping to re-sign Crystal Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt before the European transfer window closes.
Sky Sports report that PSV made a £4.2m bid for the former Sunderland defender, that bid was rejected but the Dutch club have now made an improved offer of around £7.5m according to Voetbal International. An amount that is within £1m of Palace’s asking price.
van Aanholt was in the youth set-up at PSV before joining Chelsea and then joined Sunderland on a permanent deal in 2014 after enjoying various loan spells whilst at Stamford Bridge.
The Dutch international then joined Palace in 2017 for a fee that could potentially rise to £14m and has been the club’s first choice left-back since.
Buckley u-turn
Patrick van Aanholt’s former Sunderland team-mate Will Buckley has re-signed for Bolton Wanderers, just over a fortnight after they released him.
Buckley was at Bolton under a short-term deal and was let go once his contract expired. Wanderers manager Keith Hill said at the time that they had no plans to keep him on:
His contract has run out and at this moment in time we’re unlikely to re-engage.
The club did a u-turn on that stance yesterday and the winger signed a deal that will keep him at the University of Bolton Stadium until the end of the current season.
✍️ Confirmed. We are pleased to announce that Will Buckley has returned to the club on a contract until the end of the season.
— Bolton Wanderers FC (@OfficialBWFC) January 27, 2020
https://t.co/NbB3wrTgMz#BWFC