League One Sunderland are again attempting to find bargains in South American talent, but that did not work out so well during their Premier League years.
Sunderland appear to be thinking outside the box in pursuit of new talent.
That is according to owner Stewart Donald anyway. In quotes reported by the Roker Rapport podcast, Donald has revealed that affable director Juan Sartori is planning the scour the South American market over the coming months.
“He’s been talking to [academy manager] Paul Reid about bringing some South American talent into the academy because we see a gap in the market there. We are well on the way with that process,” Donald said.
“He will feed in a lot of South American players into the academy for us to look at. Some will work, some won’t. But in the short-term on the footballing side, it helps.”
This is not the first time Sunderland have looked at South America for bargain signings. And they will be hoping it goes a lot better than before.
In 2014 alone, Ignacio Scocco and Santiago Vergini (below) arrived from South America, while Argentine goalkeeper Oscar Ustari rocked up from Almeira. Ricky Alvarez, another Argentine, signed on loan from Inter Milan.
And, with the benefit of hindsight, all four should have been avoided. Ustari and Scocco did absolutely nothing in their time on Wearside, while Vergini is best remembered for a calamitous own goal in an 8-0 defeat at Southampton.
Sunderland were forced to foot a £9 million bill for Alvarez, meanwhile, despite the fact that he did not make a single league appearance for the Black Cats.
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