Wigan winger in demand

SUNDERLAND will make a renewed attempt to sign longterm target Charles N'Zogbia this summer and are not concerned by Newcastle United's surprise pursuit of the Wigan winger. Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has been trailing N'Zogbia ever since he swapped Wigan's DW Stadium for the Stadium of Light. He has sanctioned a number of approaches to Wigan officials, but has never been granted permission to speak to the 24-year-old Frenchman. Sunderland's interest was once again rebuffed last month, with Wigan chairman Dave Whelan quoting a £10m price tag for N'Zogbia, who is due to enter the final year of his current contract this summer. With a large proportion of the £24m received from the sale of Darren Bent likely to be available for reinvestment in the close season, Bruce had always intended to make a concerted push for one of the most highly-rated left-footed midfielders in the Premier League once the transfer window reopens at the end of the season. That remains the case, although the situation became considerably more complicated when Newcastle made a surprise bid for N'Zogbia in the final hour of Monday's transfer window. The Magpies lodged a formal £10m offer moments before the window closed, but Whelan turned it down claiming it would be impossible to replace the winger at such a late stage in proceedings. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew must now decide whether to make a similar offer in the summer, but even if he does, Bruce remains quietly confident of luring N'Zogbia to Wearside. The pair built a close relationship during Bruce's time with the Latics, and N'Zogbia is well aware of his former manager's repeated attempts to re-sign him during the past 18 months. Bruce has spent the last 24 hours pondering his side for tomorrow's game at Stoke, and will make a final decision over Sulley Muntari's possible participation later today. With Lee Cattermole and David Meyler both unavailable because of injury, Sunderland struggled to prevent Chelsea's attacking midfielders from dominating the game on Tuesday. Muntari's presence would help shore up the Black Cats defences at the Britannia Stadium, but the Ghana international has made just one substitute appearance since December 7 for his former club, Inter Milan. As a result, Bruce may decide he needs more training under his belt before he is thrown into the cut and thrust of a Premier League game. Jordan Cook, an 88thminute substitute against Chelsea on Tuesday, will not be involved tomorrow after suffering a hamstring injury in Wednesday night's 5-1 reserves win over Scunthorpe. Jordan Laidler bagged a brace for the Black Cats' second string, with Matthew Fletcher, Craig Lynch and Billy Knott also finding the target. Tickets for Sunderland's home game with Tottenham on February 12 are on general sale, priced from £23 for adults and £10 for concessions.

Source: Northern_Echo