Roker Roundup: Sunderland linked with rising star from Honduras (and he’s not called Nunez!)

Sunderland interested in Honduran prospect

Sunderland have been linked with a move for a rising star of Honduran football, Iverson Sacaza, according to reports in his home country.

Diez say that the 17-year-old, who is currently on the books of the Getafe City Soccer School – a partner of Real Madrid – has been scouted by both Sunderland and Anderlecht and has trained with Valencia.

During his time training with Valencia earlier in the year, the Spanish club’s Head Coach at their International Development Academy referred to Sacaza as ‘the new Lukaku’, according to El Heraldo.

Sacaza is able to sign a professional contract in June but his agent Juan Pablo told Diez that he is not in a hurry to decide his future and he believes his future remains in Europe:

We are not in a hurry, the boy is playing here and by June he will be able to sign his professional contract.

The least we have here is that he can sign in the third division or some subsidiary, we are not in a hurry to risk losing the professional development that he has here for speculating with clubs in Honduras or elsewhere.

Iverson’s project is in Europe, if he goes there it would be thinking about his return, but we are not worried, we are letting it flow.

Reported target discusses Charlton move

Sunderland were linked with a move for Preston North End striker Jayden Stockley during the January transfer window, only for the player to opt for a move to Charlton Atletic.

Speaking in the South London Press about the reasons for his move, the 27-year-old revealed that he looked at the style of play at his potential destinations and believed Charlton were the best fit for him as he needs fast, creative players around him:

It was looking at the way sides play, to work out which would get the best out of me and vice versa.

There has got to be fast and creative players around me. I’m not blessed with the most pace. You want those forward players to put balls in and make runs off you.

I see myself as someone who can bring other people into play and set up those players who like to have nice touches around the box. Hopefully I can give them the ball more often than not so they can do their thing.

I can then rely on getting in the box, getting in good positions and waiting on the delivery.

I’m six-foot two or six-foot three, so I wouldn’t say I’m an absolute monster. You do come across people who are taller.

But it’s all about timing and quality of the ball. One thing I have experienced in the short time I’ve been here is that the quality in to me makes me the favourite a lot of the time. It’s not straight balls that you’re fighting the centre-half for, it’s balls put in at angles and runners off you. So you’re actually made favourite from the quality of the pass.

That’s a big reason I’ve won so many balls so far. It’s half my timing and half the quality of the pass I’m receiving.

Photo by Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images

Quinn explains his motivation to be Sunderland chairman

Sunderland legend Niall Quinn made an appearance on Paddy Power’s The Green Room and explained why he became club chairman back in 2016.

Quinn explained how his first decision was to sack the terrible manager that they had in charge at the time but said it was his treatment on his departure from the club during his playing days by Howard Wilkinson and Bob Murray that spurred him into action:

Yeah, the manager was having a rough time. It was a good decision, one win out of five games, get him out! Also, Roy Keane was available.

A big decision from the chairman but it was himself that he was sacking, so that was OK.

I think Franny Lee probably influenced me, he was a famous Man City footballer, left the world of football, went to horse racing – amongst other business interests – and came back as chairman of Man City and I was there at that time and I don’t know if that rubbed off on me but the future held the same thing for me.

When I went up to Sunderland, look bad start but things went well. In the finish Howard Wilkinson came and moved me on very quickly and I wanted to see the chairman before I left to explain how I thought he was getting it wrong, how it was the wrong appointment and he wouldn’t see me.

So I sent a message to him saying ‘well you never know, one day I will come back’ and his vice chairman said ‘oh we’d love to have you as a manager’ and I did actually say to John Fickling ‘I’ll be back to run the club properly’.

Now that was real ballsy at that time, I was outraged because I thought I was going to be around coaching and manager of the club but Howard Wilkinson came in and got rid of me almost instantly.

Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images