Wednesday Jul 25 2007 12:54
Sunderland will not be signing Leighton Baines after Wigan Athletic included the England Under-21 international in their squad for Wednesday's pre-season friendly against Blackpool.
The Latics were reported earlier this week to have given the defender permission to talk to the Black Cats, but it now appears that Baines will not be moving to the north-east.
Boss Chris Hutchings told the club's official website: "Leighton is finally over his virus. He trained for the first time this summer yesterday (Tuesday) and he will be involved in some capacity tonight.
"He's been laid low with a virus for the last couple of weeks and has been restricted to light training.
"He was with the rest of the squad in Holland working directly with our physiotherapists, but now he's been given the all-clear to get involved in the heavy stuff.
"Leighton is a first-class pro and a first-class person and, despite all the speculation and rumour surrounding his future, he's remained professional throughout and as ever is a joy to work with.
"I've coached him since he first broke into the first-team as a young apprentice and taken great satisfaction in how he's developed as a player and an individual."
Newcastle United, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have all been linked with Baines over the last 12 months, even though he still has two years left on his current deal at the JJB Stadium.
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