Sunderland 1 - 1 Juventus
(friendly)
Murphy 7; Molinari 89
Keane eyes Mido and Gordon as Ranieri backs Black Cats to
surprise
Claudio Ranieri boarded the Juventus team bus predicting that
Sunderland "might surprise the Premiership", but Roy Keane insists
that his evolving squad is still at least two signings from
completion. Having identified a goalkeeper and a centre-forward as
his priority acquisitions, Sunderland's manager is in negotiations
to sign Craig Gordon from Hearts for £9m - the Scotland goalkeeper
is also coveted by Aston Villa - and Mido, the Egypt striker, from
Tottenham for £6m.
"I hope to have news [of signings] in the next 24 to 48 hours,"
said Keane. "I'm trying very hard to bring in new players and Mido
is one I'd love to get into the club." The son of one of Cairo's
richest men and a character whose disdain for hard graft and
dietsheets undermined his undoubted talent at Roma and, more
recently, Spurs, Mido is nevertheless precisely the sort of
powerful and clever striker Sunderland currently lack.
Indeed, a shortage of physical presence and defender-disorientating
nous in the penalty area largely explains why they did not beat
Ranieri's men. Although Juventus's exquisitely gifted Pavel Nedved
was, by some distance, the best individual on view, Keane's
lesser-known players held their own in a free-flowing
contest.
"Sunderland try to play, to pass well," enthused Ranieri, whose
last visit here was as manager of Chelsea. He must have been
quietly relieved that the positionally aware but worryingly
lightweight Michael Chopra, Keane's £5m buy from Cardiff, had no
one to play off. "Mido's a player I've been aware of for some
time," said Keane, for whom one fall-back option is rumoured to be
his one-time Manchester United team-mate Andy Cole. "I think we
could provide Mido with a challenge and he would provide the other
strikers here with a challenge."
Moreover, at the end of a summer in which Keane has invested £16m
on six players who, with the possible exception of Kieran
Richardson, are hardly household names, the maverick Egyptian might
just be the player to capture the crowd's imagination.
Should the Mido deal fall through, Sunderland fans would regard
Cole as an unwanted alternative: the former Newcastle United
striker's best days are evidently well behind him. That said, the
wonderfully quirky Keane - who saw Daryl Murphy give his side an
early lead before Cristiano Molinaro claimed a late equaliser -
could always spring a surprise and reinvent Cole as a holding
midfielder à la Dwight Yorke, who now patrols just in front of
Sunderland's defence.
Although Marton Fulop made two stellar saves - first from a Nedved
free-kick, then a stunning reflex stop to deny David Trezeguet -
Keane is hoping to have his backline choreographed by Gordon in
time for Saturday's kick-off against Totenham here. "Marton was
class and made an unbelievable save but I'm interested in any
player who will improve Sunderland whether it be a goalkeeper or a
striker," said Keane. "If you are at a big club, and I think
Sunderland is a big club, you have to accept challenges for your
position."
And that includes the manager's role. "There are question marks
over me, my coaching staff, over the players," admitted Keane. "No
one knows how we'll do in the Premiership." Not that he will be
satisfied with merely staying up. "I'm confident we'll have a team
to compete. Some of these footballers here are underrated and
they're not going to be starstruck. They've had to fight hard to
get where they are now and my job is to get them up to the next
level."
Spurs should prove a useful litmus test. "Tottenham are a good
footballing side and I'm excited," said Keane. "I'm thinking: bring
the Premiership on."
