SUNDERLAND TABLE £2M FOR SHITTU

ickson Etuhu’s former club, Sunderland have tabled a two million pound transfer bid for Bolton Wanderer’s out of favour stopper, Daniel Shittu (The Rock), in a bid to shore up their leaky defense following injuries to a couple of key defenders. 

Shittu has not had the best of seasons at The Trotters, since arriving from relegated Watford last summer and may take the move to The Stadium of Light to revive his ailing career.

The bulky former Queens Park Rangers defender has dropped even further down the pecking order of defenders at The Reebok Stadium, after Bolton’s gaffer, Gary Megson signed Zenit Saint Petersburg’s Sebastien Puygrenier.

Shittu’s name is popping up in several discussion points, with The Black Cats desperately in need of a new defender after Nyron Nosworthy was ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while Danny Collins has also picked up a knock.

Although Sunderland are equally interested in West Ham United’s duo of James Collins and Callum Davenport, Shittu appears best suited for the deal, as The Black Cats coach, Ricky Sbragia would prefer to match Bolton’s relatively low two million pound valuation of the Super Eagles defender.

As it were, Shittu is reportedly ready to leave Bolton after admitting he wished he had never joined the club, with Birmingham City and Derby County also said to be interested in his signature. 

The centre back moved from Watford for two million pounds in August but has been frozen out ever since, starting just five league games in six months – two of them coming back-to-back over the past fortnight. 

Ironically, in one of those matches, Shittu produced a man-of-the-match performance when given a rare start against Arsenal on January 10.