Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea favourites to sign Sunderland star The People reports today that Sunderland could let their top striker Kenwyne Jones leave the club, if the right amount of money comes on the table.

No fee is mentioned but Jones could be worth as much as £25 million. The fact that also his partner up front Djibril Cisse could be leaving in the summer are not at all good news for Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia.

Sbragia could see this as a big step in the wrong direction, and he would be struggling to find such a great forward line. Sunderland with Cisse and Jones could be a key to a massive climb up to the top 10 clubs in the Premier League, without them they will be struggling in the wrong area of the league. (soccervoice)

It does seem that whilst the Black Cats don’t appear to want to lose Kenwyne Jones the valuations they are setting on the player are very inflated so it’s almost as if they want to scare of potential suitors. Sbragia has recently stated that neither Cisse or Jones has been in top form of late and that fuelled speculation that Spurs may make another move for the former Southampton man in the summer. As for Arsenal, well i do not believe that Wenger would make such a move. He already has better strikers at the club and is unlikely to fork out such a huge fee for Kenwyne. Expect Man City to be heavily linked instead, even though they too have about half a dozen international forwards at the club! Do Gunners fans think the club needs another striker?

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The Daily Telegraph reports that the Frenchman has criticised Sunderland for pitching up at the Emirates with a (shock horror) defensive gameplan which successfully nullified the home team. Wenger clearly couldn’t contain his frustration at the final whistle, complaining to his opposite number that the visitors should have tried to play football.

It was a well-worn theory of the Frenchman’s and not for the first time it was utter nonsense. Sbragia disclosed that a heated Wenger had approached him at the final whistle to say: “You should come here and play football.” The Sunderland manager added: “That’s difficult to take from our point of view, and it’s unnecesary.” His indignation was justified for his team, from Anton Ferdinand at centre-half to Kenwyne Jones up front, had neutered an Arsenal side bolstered by the debut of Andrei Arshavin with admirable efficiency.

We’ve heard criticism like this before, with Jose Mourinho once accusing the Spurs team of ‘parking the bus’ in front of their goal. However, Arsenal simply don’t have the skill nor the creative players to unlock a defence like Sunderland’s at the moment. It was the same story against West Ham in their last home match, where they clearly missed the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott. Are Gunners fans still confident that they can land a place in the Champions League next season?

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The Daily Telegraph reports that Newcastle have been unsuccessful in a short-lived pursuit of Kieran Richardson. The former Manchester United midfielder is one of Sunderland’s most valuable assets and, along with Kenwyne Jones, a player that the club are working hard to retain on Wearside. Ricky Sbragia reveals the Magpies were poised to swoop for one of their crown jewels.

Sbragia said “There was a cheeky inquiry but it was never anymore than that.

“To be honest, we’ve had a few cheeky enquiries over the months that never got anywhere near getting off the ground and that was one of them.

“Clubs are entitled to try it on if they want to but I’ve made it clear that I want to keep my very best players at the club.”

I guess this sort of enquiry happens all the time between football clubs, very much a case of ‘if you don’t ask then you won’t get’. It’s clear that Newcastle are trying to bring in talented midfielders in the ilk of Richardson and Johnson before the transfer window closes, or instead rely on the likes of Nicky Butt, Kevin Nolan and Damien Duff to provide the assists and goals that will get them out of trouble.