Roker Roundup: International striker turned down deadline-day move to the Stadium of Light

Sunderland miss out on Paraguay international

Sunderland ended transfer deadline day without adding another striker to their ranks, leaving Joe Gelhardt as their only option for the rest of the season.

According to reports, however, it wasn’t for the lack of trying.

Nacion Media Group correspondent Christian Martin claims that Sunderland made an offer for Paraguay international striker Julio Enciso on deadline day.

Enciso is currently on the books of Brighton and Hove Albion but the 19-year-old decided to fight for a place in Roberto De Zerbi’s squad rather than head out on loan to Sunderland or Sevilla, the other side to make an offer for his services.

The 9-cap international features regularly on the bench for Brighton, but so far this season has only made 7 appearances, four in the Premier League, with his only three starts coming in the EFL Cup.

Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

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Ron-Thorben Hoffman on how Sunderland improved him

Former Sunderland loanee Ron-Thorben Hoffmann has given an interview to German publication Kicker, where he explains how his time on Wearside improved him as a goalkeeper.

Hoffmann explains that he was grateful to play in front of 35,000 people regularly at the Stadium of Light, when his native Germany was still playing matches behind closed doors due to Coronavirus:

England was a special time, I am very grateful for this experience. I was abroad for a year, but I still played 23 games. When there were still ghost games in Germany because of Corona, I played in front of 35,000 people. It made me grow as a person.

He goes on the say that what helped him the most was his defending from set-pieces, due to how under pressure he was at Sunderland, particularly from corners:

The hardness shaped me, especially the defence at corners. In the game against Jahn Regensburg, for example, I noticed that opposing set pieces were easier for me than when I was at Bayern. All in all, I’m firmly convinced that we need a different goalkeeper game than just a few years ago, everything is much faster, more intensive and dynamic. You don’t just have to think, you have to play along. Manuel Neuer was the prototype and I took a lot of that with me, internalized it and put it into practice on the pitch.

Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images

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Nobbs discusses her time at Sunderland

Former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Nobbs currently represents Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League, after a distinguished spell at Arsenal, where she racked up 270 appearances.

Speaking to englandfootball.com, Nobbs discussed her grassroots story, including her time at Sunderland, where she would team with many players who would go on to star alongside her with England, before having to leave when Sunderland were denied a place in the then newly former WSL:

I had joined the Middlesbrough centre of excellence around the age of 11 or 12 before joining the Sunderland centre of excellence around the age of 16.

My age group was me, Lucy Bronze, Lucy Staniforth and Demi Stokes. That was our little group. And then we had Beth Mead behind us and the likes of Steph Houghton and Jill Scott who we had seen but not been in the same squad as us before moving on.

We then all went to other clubs when Sunderland didn’t get into the WSL but we all have a lot of memories in Sunderland and it was a major part of our journey.

Photo by Lynne Cameron - The FA/The FA via Getty Images