Sunderland and Nottingham Forest both want Cameron Jerome but Norwich City will demand a rather hefty transfer fee.
At Championship level, Cameron Jerome simply guarantees goals. He scored 16 last season in a Norwich City side who failed to mount a convincing promotion challenge and helped fire Birmingham City to the Premier League in both 2007 and 2009.
Therefore, with reports suggesting the 30-year-old will be allowed to leave Norwich as part of a huge summer clear-out, its little surprise that Jerome is hot property.
Jerome (L) has 34 goals in his last two Championship seasons
According to The Sun, both Sunderland and Nottingham Forest are at the front of the queue for Jerome’s signature. And it’s little wonder why, with both clubs desperately in need of a goalscorer to replace their departed talismen, Jermain Defoe and Britt Assombalonga.
Beyond Sunderland’s means?
However, it appears that Forest have a rather clear advantage. The report claims that Norwich will demand £6 million for a striker who has two years remaining on his contract.
And though the fee is a little steep for a player in his 30s, Forest have plenty of cash to spend after Assombalonga’s protracted move to Middlesbrough netted them a hefty £15 million windfall.
Sunderland, however, could only dream of being able to pay such figures. The cash-strapped Black Cats have barely spent a penny this summer, signing only Aiden McGeady and James Vaughan on permanent deals for a combined fee of just over £1 million, per Sky Sports.
And with Simon Grayson forced to scrimp and save this summer, you wonder whether Norwich’s £6 million asking price could put Jerome slightly out of Sunderland’s price range.
They need to reinforce pretty much every area of their squad and splashing out a large portion of their budget on a single player may not be the most intelligent tactic. Then again, Jerome does guarantee goals.
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