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Sunderland lining up bid for Bradley

Michael Bradley (ISIPhotos.com)

Just days after Jermaine Jones made the move from the German Bundesliga to the English Premier League, now comes word a U.S. teammate of Jones could be joining him in the EPL.

Sunderland is lining up a transfer bid for U.S. World Cup midfielder Michael Bradley. The Black Cats are believed to be looking for a potential replacement for Lee Cattermole, who is battling a back injury and is drawing transfer interest from the likes of Liverpool, and Bradley could be just the player to solidify the midfield for Steve Bruce's side.

Bradley isn't the only midfielder on Sunderland's radar. Paraguayan midfielder Victor Caceres has also been identified as a potential defensive midfield target for the Black Cats.

Bradley is in the third year of a four-year deal with Borussia Moenchengladbach, a club currently battling in the Bundesliga relegation zone. He has been a regular starter for the German club, though he was left on the bench for the team's 1-0 win against Nuremberg on Saturday. He came on as a second-half substitute to preserve the team's lead.

What do you think of Bradley making a move to England? Like the idea of him joining Sunderland? 

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. +1. Sunderland is a good first stop, but he may have troubles with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Malbranque, and Cattermole. Blackpool would be the perfect spot, teaming up with Charlie Adam plus he would be a star on the team.

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  2. I’m actually getting worried about too many Yanks playing in the EPL. It is a grueling season, even by European standards with the way they play thru the winter break, I would hate to see our Yanks get run into the ground by playing in England.

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  3. Bradley would be perfect for Sunderland he outclasses Cattermole by miles. Cattermole in my opinion is more a championship side mid with his lack of pace.

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  4. Steve Bruce was a very formidable center half for Man U. Together with Gary Pallister they formed a feared CB pair known as “Dolly and Daisy”. Neville said they mayhave been Man U’s best CB pair ever. Too bad they aren’t buying Edu instead of MB.

    In those terms Bruce could maybe teach Bradley about being a hard man but I doubt MB needs much schooling in that area. Bruce did win a lot of medals at Man U and MB could certainly benefit from that.

    The main thing is, if this rumour is true, then Bruce wants him and that is what any American who has ever been successful in England has always needed, a stable manager who wanted him and gave him a real shot.

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  5. Bent put in the transfer request with the front office after Villa made a hefty bid for him. Speaking of transfer requests, Sulley Muntari submitted a transfer request himself. I only mention it because apparently he is also a target for Sunderland.

    If this goes through it will be great for Bradley, all parties involve could greatly benefit from this. Guess we will just have to wait and see.

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  6. Wow, Lee Cattermole is as good as everybody makes him out to be. He’s reckless and has minimal ball skills. He gets more red cards than he does goals and he’s been suspended twice this season already for yellow card accumulation.

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  7. This is a transfer rumour. Nothing more at this point.

    As for :”1. Why would BMG want to sell him now, while in a relegation battle?”

    Why not?

    Have you seen the standings? BMG is in a very bad place. Bradley has been playing well for them this year and what has that gotten them? After 18 games they have 13 points. As they say, they can lose just as much without him.

    There are 18 games left.

    The last couple of years teams have needed a minimum of about 33-37 points to survive.

    Do you see BMG getting 20-24 points over the next 18 games?

    That means that in the second half, they would have to be dramatically better than they were in the first half.

    And if they go down,they will probably HAVE to sell Bradley ( probably won’t be able to afford him) and my guess is he won’t have anywhere near the value he does right now when potential buyers might really need him. Perhaps they have young guys who they could blood these last 18 games, to prep them for next years promotion chase.

    Moving Bradley would be a very tactical decision and I doubt that any of us have enough information to evaluate it.

    It’s a shame because I still think of them as Weisweiler’s team, on par with Bayern and one of the best teams in Europe wit guys like Vogts, Netzer, Heynkes, Bonhof,Simonsen and even Lothar Matthaus.

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  8. agreed. BM is fighting for survival, they won’t offload players until they are dead to rights. however, this would be a great move for Jr., so I hope his agent finds a way to make it happen.

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  9. Fair enough, I don’t think his value would really drop if you keep him till the summer. Imagine the value if he helps keep you in the top flight too.

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  10. I’m going through the same thing. Just promise your friends Messi & Tevez will be there, and then when the game kicks off, they’ll be so drunk you can just point to any Argentina player and say “that’s him”.

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  11. He had a great World Cup, is young and impressing in the Bundesliga. If BM are going to cash in, they should probably do it now. Yes, he could have a stellar season and build his reputation up to the next winter transfer window in 2012. But his current position is similar to a college athlete after a really good season. Make a bigger move now while your stock is high, or risk an injury or poor performance and wait another year with less suitors.

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  12. Thanks for the info. I tried finding info on him but couldn’t come up with much. I’m pretty sure he is Paraguayan as well, not Uruguayan as Ives states.

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  13. I don’t think anyone is saying/assuming that there is a spat between the two, we’re just trying to wrap our heads around why BMG would sell now. At least this was my take as I made a similar speculation with no evidence above. This whole rumor could be bunk to begin with.

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  14. Well, Bradley did sit last weekend, so if there is a spat between the coach and Bradley, maybe BMG would acquiesce to selling, which is inevitable eventually.

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  15. I would loved to have seen him at Villa, but that will never happen under that twit, Houllier. Sunderland looks like a good club for him.

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  16. his contract ends summer 2012, so no need really to sell him now. He’ll leave this summer no matter what.
    His replacement in Saturday’s game was a young promising dude, who actually scored the winning goal and left a good impression. Bradley has been volatile this season, maybe the huge pressure of the relegation battle is getting to him… Maybe not everyone knows this, but although BMG has been sucking big time this season this is really a big and proud club

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  17. Most of the articles that I’ve read have said that it’ll include “vets.” So, not that I don’t like seeing the next generation, I’m hoping that it does mean that we’ll be seeing some familiar faces.

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  18. Could Bradley go? Sure. Of course.

    The questions that spring to mind:

    1. Why would BMG want to sell him now, while in a relegation battle?

    2. If this is really cooking, why have no UK websites reported this *rumor*? [Looking on-line, it is almost all American websites. Including Ives’ piece on Fox. One German site…]

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  19. Sunderland is a great club and it seems like a good fit for Bradley. I just like watching Americans in the EPL. Wish we could get all starting 11 there.

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