Black Cats see no future for Englishman in the north east.
Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts
Sunderland are happy to let midfield player Craig Gardner leave the Stadium of Light this summer, with West Bromwich Albion said to be keen on signing the player, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
The former England Under-21 international has only been in the north east for the past two seasons now, having originally been brought to the Black Cats from Birmingham City on a three-year deal for a fee of £6 million in June 2011 by previous head coach Martin O’Neill.
However, it is understood that new Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio is not a fan of the 26-year-old’s and with the Italian currently embarking on a massive rebuilding process at the club, who only just managed to avoid relegation to the Championship in the previous campaign, Gardener’s future at Sunderland is now very much up in the air.
In total, the holding midfield player has appeared in 74 matches in all competitions for Sunderland in the last two years, scoring 11 times for the club, although Gardner has also been sent off twice in that time.
And with Baggies manager Steve Clarke understood to be keen on bringing Gardner, whose contract at Sunderland only now runs until next summer, to the Hawthorns in a cut-price £2m deal this summer, the player’s days in the north east now appear numbered.