Sunderland are set to sign Fiorentina’s Spanish full back Marcos Alonso on loan until the end of the current Barclays Premier League campaign, with a view to the permanent deal.
Manager Gus Poyet is keen to add the Spanish full back to his squad as the Blackcats battle against relegation from the Premier League, and with a mini revival under Poyet, things are looking better than they were at The Stadium of Light.
Alonso, who has played in the Premier League before, having played for Bolton Wanderers, from 2010, stayed with the Trotters following their relegation to the second tier, becoming one of Dougie Freedman’s stand out performers, as Wanderers just missed out on a play off place on the final day of the season.
It is understood that American owner Ellis Short is unwilling to invest in the team, meaning manager Poyet will have to sell from his current squad before he can buy in the transfer window.
Poyet will otherwise have to continue with the club’s transfer policy of signing free agents or players on loan.
Several members of the squad are either loan’s or free transfers, including goalkeeper Vito Mannone, On loan Liverpool centre forward Fabio Borini, Jozy Altidore, and Ki Seung Yeung, who is also on loan from Swansea City.
While Poyet is only looking to make temporary additions, relegation rivals including West Ham and Crystal Palace are expected to sign players in the January window, with Sam Allardyce already looking at several strikers to replace.
Alonso signed for the Serie A side in the Summer transfer window, but has hardly featured for Viola since his move, and would see a possible move back to England, as a stepping board to play regular football in a competative League, get get back in favour with the Italian side Fiorentina.
Sunderland are currently embroiled in a relegation battle, having been better at Christmas, but after an impressive 1-0 win away at Everton, Poyet’s side look like a team hungry to improve.
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
