League One strugglers Sunderland reportedly won’t pay the £2.6 million required to release Maddison from his Peterborough United contract.
The most naturally gifted, creative and influential player in the whole of League One will be available for as little as £2.6 million in January. But Sunderland, the Chronicle reports, simply will not pay the modest fee required to sign a man who, on paper at least, appears to be exactly what Phil Parkinson is crying out for.
We all know that, beyond the enigmatic Aiden McGeady and the erratic Chris Maguire, this Sunderland side lacks the sort of individual, game-changing talent that every team needs in a crowded promotion race.
That was the case all the way through the increasingly dour Jack Ross regime and it has continued, if not worsened, under Parkinson. Tuesday’s FA Cup first round defeat at Gillingham, when the Black Cats failed to produce a shot on target over 120 minutes of football, was all the evidence you needed to suggest this team needs a new creative talisman and fast.
But, according to reports, Sunderland are reluctant to pay a meagre £2.6 million to free Marcus Maddison, he of ten goals this season and 23 assists last, from his contract at Peterborough United. Not only is Maddison capable of winning games on his own with a flick of that brilliant left-foot, he is also a local lad who is apparently ‘desperate’ to wear the red and white stripes.
It’s not as if Sunderland are strapped for cash these days either. This, it seems, is a decision no one outside the boardroom can understand.
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