Sam Allardyce insists he is not trying to add Andre Ayew to his Sunderland squad, despite reports linking him with the forward.
The Black Cats are once more fighting against relegation this season, and Allardyce has used the January transfer window to bring in Jan Kirchhoff, Lamine Kone, Steve Harper and Dame N’Doye. As well as the latter, it was suggested early on this month that the Stadium of Light boss wanted Ayew to freshen up his attacking options and was lining up a big-money bid for his signature.
The Ghanaian only joined Swansea City last summer upon the expiry of his contract at Marseille, and he has enjoyed a fine start to his Premier League career. As well as scoring eight goals in 22 league appearances, the 26-year-old has also assisted four times. But despite reports of a £12million bid for the player, Allardyce insists the Liberty Stadium star is not on his radar.
“There’s been no contact between us and Swansea for us to make an offer,” he said. “We haven’t made an offer to them for that, and I don’t think Swansea would want to sell him. I think that’s a bit of speculation on the media’s behalf. I can’t say any more than that because he’s a Swansea player. We are not allowed to speculate any more on that in case we get fined.”
One possible target for Sunderland could be Mathieu Debuchy. The France international is desperate to represent his country at Euro 2016 this summer, but has lost his place in the Arsenal side and has revealed his eagerness to seal a loan move this month. Sebastian Coates, meanwhile, has left the Wearside club for Sporting Lisbon, who have taken him on a temporary deal.
