Why £4m for Chopra is sign of
Keane's uphill task
Roy Keane has never been a man to settle for cosiness but the
Sunderland manager has effectively, albeit temporarily, asked the
club's fans to go out and join him in the discomfort zone after
Sunderland offered Cardiff City £4m for the former Newcastle United
striker Michael Chopra. Keane is sure to instigate bigger deals in
his time, and Hearts' goalkeeper Craig Gordon may fall into that
category if he moves south for £8m or more, but few will equal the
shock of the news of Chopra's possible signing.
Chopra is yet to agree personal terms, but if that proceeds
smoothly inside the Stadium of Light the reverberations will still
be felt outside. This is the fickle age of message boards and
phone-ins and, on a couple of levels, financially and emotionally,
this transfer has raised questions on Wearside about Keane's
stewardship for the first time.
The reason is that while Chopra may have played one season with
Cardiff, and impressed with 22 goals in the Championship,
Sunderland fans know him as a hardcore Geordie who scored only one
Premiership goal for Newcastle. It came against Sunderland, at the
Stadium of Light, a goal celebrated vigorously by Chopra. Newcastle
United wasted no time yesterday in putting footage of the moment on
their official website.
That goal came in April of last year and when Chopra returned six
months later as a Cardiff player he scored twice in a 2-1 win and
again marked his goals with robust celebrations. There was no
doubting his local affiliation.
Keane was complimentary about Chopra that October night, saying:
"He looks like one of those players who was unlucky at Newcastle. I
have seen the lad play a number of times when he was at Newcastle,
sometimes for their reserves against Manchester United, and he
looks like a natural goalscorer."
And once the hysteria ebbs in that section of supporters who will
always be most voluble and vociferous - Shay Given, Chris Waddle,
Michael Bridges, Robbie Elliott and Lee Clark have all played for
both Newcastle and Sunderland in recent years - it may be that the
mooted transfer says more about that state of the market and the
state of English football, rather than a parochial
preoccupation.
Keane bemoaned "a lack of quality" on Tuesday. Due largely to a
lack of opportunity at St James' Park, Chopra is unproven at
Premiership level and yet costs £4m, a sum that will rise to £5m
should Sunderland and Chopra prove harmonious. But then David
Nugent, Keane's previous target and someone yet to kick a ball in
the Premiership, has just been sold to Portsmouth for £6m. Then
again, this is a market where Darren Bent costs more than Thierry
Henry.
It may be that the Gordon deal collapses because of such inflation.
In Scotland Hearts are reported to have turned their nose up at £8m
and asked for £10m and, while Keane is on record as saying
Sunderland "can compete", there comes a point where the price is
simply unjustifiable.
A legitimate question then arises about alternatives. From Ross
Wallace and Liam Miller to Greg Halford and Russell Anderson,
Sunderland so far under Keane have bought British or Irish players
or foreigners who have played in England - the Trinidadians Carlos
Edwards and Dwight Yorke being the most high profile - even though
players from abroad generally cost less in terms of fees and
wages.
This could be a policy decision or it could be a broader issue. On
Tuesday Keane said: "A lot of players, especially those abroad, do
take everything into account. Believe it or not, the weather plays
a massive part. Obviously I have been lying through my teeth saying
it is always sunny up here.
"But I suppose I was a bit like that before I came up here thinking
the north-east is in the middle of nowhere. That is part of my job
to try and sell the club and the area. But I have settled in, I
really enjoy it and so do my staff that I brought with me. It is
part of my job to sell the club and say come up, have a look
around. We have had players, shown them the areas where we think
they could live, stuff like that. It is part of the challenge
because the temptation for a lot of players is to live in
Manchester or London."
There will be no difficulty selling the area to Chopra since he is
born and bred in the north-east. However, not until he has scored
at least one Premiership winner for Sunderland will many on
Wearside consider embracing Keane's new signing.