Roker Roundup: Garbutt admits he had talks with Sunderland, & Honeyman receives huge praise

Garbutt on Blackpool move and Sunderland deal

Sunderland have been hoping to sign a left back all summer to compete with Denver Hume for the starting spot but have been unable to strike a deal as yet.

Two of the more strongly linked players for that role have both signed for Blackpool, Luke Garbutt and Demetri Mitchell, with the former talking to the Blackpool Gazette about why he headed to Bloomfield Road.

Garbutt did not want to discuss his negotiations with Sunderland, although the Gazette lay the blame for that move breaking down on the coronavirus and the introduction of the League One salary cap, but the player said he was delighted to get his Blackpool move over the line:

I was at Ipswich last year and it was quite well documented that Sunderland were in negotiations with me for most of the summer, but I don’t want to divulge into too much of that.

I just want to focus on my time here and get the club moving forward, get into the team and start playing well again.

It all started when the manager got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago.

We had a meeting and I liked what he had to say about his aspirations for the football club moving forward.

It was something I wanted to be a part of, so I was delighted to get it over the line.

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Honeyman starring for Hull

Former academy product George Honeyman took some time to settle in at Hull City but his move is now paying dividends with the academy product one of Sunderland’s League One rivals star performers.

Such has been Honeyman’s form, he has one goal and three assists in just four League One appearances so far this season, the midfielder was recently handed the captain’s armband.

Hull boss Grant McCann has been explaining handing the armband to Honeyman to the Hull Daily Mail and believes the 26-year-old deserves it due to his performances since the lockdown:

George has been outstanding.

He’s been outstanding since we came back from lockdown – the last nine games he was outstanding and he’s taken that into this season.

He epitomises everything we’re about: hard work, energy, aggression to get after the ball and get it back. At the minute, he’s creating and scoring goals as well.

I’ve been really, really pleased with George. Last week, I gave him the captain’s armband because of the way he’s performing.

Another academy product, Michael Ledger, has told the Greenock Telegraph that he is hoping to make a name for himself back in the United Kingdom with Greenock Morton after spells with Norwegian clubs Viking and Notodden following his exit from Sunderland:

I only came back from Norway in December.

I left Sunderland when I was 19 and signed a two-year deal with Viking straight off the bat.

It came out of the blue and I’m really pleased that I went over because it was a great experience for me.

It’s a different type of football over there, a lot more technical.

It was good to go over and experience that at such a young age because it’s helped me improve and will help me add something that bit different to the team.

By the end of the two-years I was keen to try and make my name back here in the UK so I had a choice to make - either stay abroad or try to make an impact back over here, and that’s when Queen of the South came along.

I definitely want to prove myself in the UK and I think being at Morton gives me a great chance to do that.

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Ghanaian side hoping to sign Gyan

Asante Kotoko are hoping to sign former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan before the 34-year-old hangs up his boots.

The club’s communications director Moses Antwi Benefo told Oyerepa FM that he is hoping to bring energy to the club with the arrival of the Ghanaian legend and revealed that it was only the financial details of such a deal that is holding the move back:

It’s an open secret that Asamoah Gyan has declared he would love to play for Asante Kotoko before he finally hangs up his boosts and we at Kotoko believe the time to get him on board is now.

The management has been given the green light to engage Asamoah Gyan.

We have been in an era where the fanbase has been a little dormant and we believe that acquiring Gyan will energize the fans to patronize our games.

We can use him as a tool to attract sponsors and partners as well as bring our fans back into the stands.

Everybody knows Gyan’s capabilities on the field. The only challenge we are facing in this bid is monetary, that is what has slowed down the discussions but we are hoping to reach an agreement that will be mutually beneficial to both parties.

We have been tasked to make Kotoko economically viable and that is what we seek to achieve in every dealing.

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