Black Cats stopper not getting carried away.
Check in to Sunderland vs Stoke City
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has said that goalkeeper Vito Mannone is calm about the recent speculation linking him with a surprise move to Manchester United, according to Sky Sports.
Read More Sunderland Transfer News
Mannone only made the switch to the Stadium of Light over the summer in a £2m move from Arsenal, and is now the club’s first choice goalkeeper following a long term shoulder injury to Kieran Westwood.
Reports in Italy have suggested that United boss David Moyes has been eyeing up Mannone as a back up for current number one David De Gea, but Gus Poyet has waved away the talk by saying that Mannone is happy with the club and he is even looking for another goalkeeper himself.
Millwall stopper David Forde has emerged as a possible target as he would be available for a minimal fee, whilst they have also been linked with two Argentine keepers playing in Italy – Catania stopper Mariano Andujar and Genoa’s Albano Bizzarri.
The Black Cats boss told the Sunderland Echo: “I think Vito is calm about everything.
“It was a very different situation for me with Vito and Westy (to give Mannone his first Premier League start), probably one of the hardest decisions I made before Manchester City.
“Unfortunately, Westy has had an operation now and is out for another three months. But I’m calm over Vito. There are players that you can talk openly to and Vito is one of those.”
On the search for a new keeper, Poyet added: “It’s a position that we are looking at.
“We’re working on a few positions and I can say openly that we’re looking at goalkeepers, although that doesn’t mean someone will come.
“I don’t want to say I’m going to bring in this, this and this, because then you don’t have the quality. But if there’s a player who I know can come in and help us quickly, then I will do.”
Find out the top 10 biggest match-fixing scandals in sport history.