There hasn’t been much light at Sunderland’s home ground lately as the club’s Premier League future seems bleak. After being reduced to spending meagre fees on loans and waiting for player sales before signing fresh faces, Sunderland basically need a miracle to once again save themselves from the clutches of relegation.
David Moyes has been able to sign only Joleon Lescott on a short-term deal so far and it’s unlikely he’ll have that big an impact considering how woeful he was with Aston Villa and in his last spell at Greece. Having signed Steven Pienaar and Victor Anichebe already, Lescott was another one of Moyes’ former players to join him.
As said before, selling players is likely to be the only way to actually buy players and the club could get rid of Patrick Van Aanholt to fund incomings. He’ll need to sign a cheaper and a direct replacement for the Dutchman and reports reveal that he’s targeting Bryan Oviedo as a possible replacement.
The Costa Rican has had a mixed spell at Everton and with Baines a regular in that spot, he might have to move elsewhere for regular game time. When he burst onto the scene, he was touted as an attacking minded full-back and it wasn’t a surprise as he’s a South American!
Having suffered a double leg break in 2014, all the momentum he had built in his flashy display against Manchester United at Old Trafford was rubbed clean and he had to start from scratch after a long time recuperation period. He did return a year later but hasn’t been the same ever since. Moyes could help resurrect his career.
He’d be a like for like replacement for van Aanholt. His strengths are undoubtedly his crossing and ability to dribble and maraud down the left flank. He could also be deployed as a left-sided winger as he has that versatility tag around his neck.
The problem with him is that he hasn’t played much and will find it hard to hit the ground running. Playing in a new team will take time to adjust as well and by the time he does acclimatise to the new surrounding, it might be too late for the Black Cats who are rock bottom at the moment. If they can get Oviedo for cheap, then they could use most of the money they make from van Aanholt’s sale in strengthening other areas of the pitch. It seems like the only ploy doesn’t it?
