By Soccernet staff
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Kenwyne Jones has played well alongside Darren
Bent
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has accused Liverpool of
"badgering" striker Kenwyne Jones and described the Merseyside
club's conduct as "hugely disrespectful".
Jones has been at the centre of sustained speculation
in January with reports claiming that he is a target for Liverpool
following the sale of Andriy Voronin and an injury sustained by
established first-choice striker Fernando Torres.
But Bruce is adamant there has been no contact between the clubs
and is angry at what he perceives to be unsettling tactics employed
by Liverpool.
Furthermore, the Sunderland manager has no intention of selling
a player who has scored six goals and claimed two assists in 17
Premier League appearances this season.
"I find it hugely disrespectful, the antics of Liverpool," Bruce
said. "I have huge respect for Liverpool and the way they have done
their business and the way they have conducted themselves.
"But I have to say, this constant badgering of Kenwyne Jones
when we as a club haven't heard anything, and then I keep reading
this nonsense that I'm going to allow him to go on loan because
it's a tax advantage for both clubs is the biggest load of rubbish
I have read for weeks.
`Kenwyne Jones is not going to go on loan to anybody for the
help of Liverpool or anybody else. I would be mad. Now, if
Liverpool are going to come and offer an amount of money, then we
all know what happens.
"Every player - every player - has got a price and a valuation.
I have to say though, it would have to be a huge amount of money
for us even to contemplate it with a week to go in the transfer
window.
"The only thing it's done is unsettle the boy. It's got him
probably in a situation where he thinks I don't want him, which is
far from the case. But I can't stop it. Publicly or privately, I
can't stop this constant thing of Kenwyne Jones every day.''
Even normally mild-mannered chairman Niall Quinn has been
angered by the speculation, and Bruce, who admitted he would have
to re-assure Jones he is wanted on Wearside after training today,
was at a loss to explain a story which simply refuses to go
away.
