Kenwyne Jones will only be sold for mind-blowing fee
Steve Bruce has said it would take a “mind blowing” offer to prise Kenwyne Jones from
Sunderland….Read more from the U.K.Guardian.
Steve Bruce has said it would take a “mind-blowing” offer to prise Kenwyne Jones
from Sunderland and doubts if the clubs who want to buy him would prove able –
or willing – to meet the necessary price.
Birmingham, Stoke, Liverpool and Spurs are believed to be interested in the
Trinidad & Tobago striker, who has scored six goals for Sunderland this season.
“We all know in football that everybody’s got their price, whether you’re Steven
Gerrard or Cristiano Ronaldo,” Bruce said. “But the one thing I want to do here
is try and build a squad. If something out there blows our brains … but with
no disrespect to Stoke or Birmingham, can they afford him? I very much doubt it.
It’s not just the transfer fee but wages, all the rest of it. I just can’t see
it.”
Sunderland’s manager admits he has found working with the talented but laid-back
striker a frustrating experience. Signed by Roy Keane from Southampton for £6m
Jones was once described as “the most difficult” Premier League forward to mark
by Chelsea’s John Terry but has proved inconsistent this season.
“On his day I think you can look at Kenwyne and say he’s worth £40m, then on
another day you’ll think, ‘Come on you’,” Bruce said. “That’s Kenwyne. We’ve got
to get him to a level where with his ability, he could play in any team. The
thing with Kenwyne is for him to grasp the nettle.
“To be a Chelsea player, or a Man United player, or a Liverpool player, what
makes them stand out is they can perform at a level week in, week out. It’s a
level a lot of players find difficult to get to. They’re the demands of a huge
club and we’ve got to try and get Kenwyne like that, because when he is playing
at his best, he is a fantastic footballer.
“He tests you. He tests your skills as a manager. He’s a big, genuine, nice lad,
an easy-going, gentle boy. We know what it is – the challenge is to get the best
out of him. The ability is there.”
Sunderland have flown to the Algarve to prepare for Saturday’s game at Chelsea.
Although the weather in southern Portugal is hardly warm at least it will enable
the squad to work outside. “We’ve trained properly once in more than two and a
half weeks,” Bruce said. “We’ve done stuff indoors and in gyms but it’s been far
from ideal.”