Sunderland are weighing up a bid for Rangers front man Martyn Waghorn. The Black Cats are currently short of options in the attacking department and newly appointed manager Simon Grayson wants adequate reinforcements before the season starts.
Sunderland lost some of their influential names after getting demoted to the Championship including Jermain Defoe who was terrific last season. The English international netted 15 times last campaign but his goals were not enough as the Black Cats will be plying their trade in the Championship this season.
Simon Grayson replaced David Moyes who endured a horrible season at the Stadium Of Light. Despite having a quality squad at his disposal initially, he couldn’t stop the downfall of the club due to a number of factors.
The Scot was expected to steer the club through the ups and downs of the League but he completely misjudged the situation and the current scenario is a reflection of that.
Grayson has been handed the responsibility to follow the path of Newcastle United who earned an immediate promotion last season having dropped to the Championship in the 2015/16 season.
Grayson needs to do business very carefully as the Black Cats cannot afford any more slip-ups in the transfer market. They don’t have a very large kitty of transfer budget, unlike other promotional contenders.
The Darron Gibson incident has already damaged the prestige of the club and Waghorn’s arrival could give the club some temporary relief. Waghorn started his career with the Black Cats and even appeared in eight matches for them.
But after failing to nail down a place in the first team, he moved to Leicester City permanently in 2010. He had been to a number of clubs before Rangers picked him up in 2015.
He had been a regular under former Gers manager Mark Warburton and maintained his form under his successor Pedro Caixinha. Grayson has already signed two forwards in James Vaughan and Lewis Grabban but the 5-0 loss against Celtic in a pre-season friendly pointed out the need of a proper goal poacher.
Waghorn can operate across the front four positions and would be a very suitable option for Grayson. Added to that, he will be available for a decent fee as he is in his last year of the contract.
44 goals in 78 games at the Ibrox should be enough for him to earn a move to his boyhood club and it is understood the 27-year-old is also looking forward to the move.
