John Ruddy’s arrival at Wolverhampton Wanderers should tempt Sunderland to target his current teammate Andy Lonergan.
Following Jordan Pickford’s departure from Sunderland, Simon Grayson appeared to hope that John Ruddy would be the man to replace him at the Stadium of Light, with The Sun suggesting that they were keen on the former Norwich man.
But with Ruddy ultimately deciding to join Wolves, Grayson perhaps has the perfect opportunity to link up with a goalkeeper who he has already signed once before during his managerial career.
Sunderland boss Simon Grayson.
The Express and Star reports that Andy Lonergan will be allowed to leave Molineux this summer, so perhaps Grayson should hand the 33-year-old the chance to join the Black Cats.
It is perhaps a surprise that Lonergan is being allowed to leave Wolves given that he was arguably a solid understudy for Carl Ikeme last season. And of course, the club may have been tempted to keep Lonergan for the time-being following Ikeme’s devastating cancer diagnosis.
However, with Lonergan free to move on, Grayson should capitalise and bring him in – especially as he knows how good the former Leeds man can be.
Lonergan arrived during Grayson’s final summer at Elland Road, and was arguably the best and most reliable player in the Whites squad until the boss’ departure.
Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Andy Lonergan
At 33, he should perhaps be heading into some of the best years of his career, and Wolves’ apparent willingness to let him go would hint that he may be available at a very decent price – which will be extremely useful with the Chronicle suggesting that Grayson has a limited budget to work with.
It may not be a marquee addition for the Black Cats, but if he can show the form that he has shown for the majority of his career in the Championship, signing Lonergan may prove to be a very smart piece of business.
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