A Sunderland transfer window would not be the same without talk of a move for Fabio Borini.
Forever ingrained in Sunderland fans’ hearts after his goals against Newcastle, Borini has developed something of an unlikely cult hero status on Wearside. However, last summer Borini rejected a £14million permanent move to the Stadium of Light in favour of staying at Liverpool and trying to earn his place in the 1st XI which somewhat diminished his popularity amongst the Sunderland faithful. Despite this, reports emerged in the last few days linking Borini with Sunderland once again and for once these reports seem to be genuine, with both local and national newspapers seemingly viewing the loan switch as inevitable. Will the prodigal son return? It seems likely, but the more pertinent question to ask would be is he what is required?
Borini scored 7 goals in 32 Premier League games for Sunderland, a respectable return considering he was often deployed on the wing. The contribution of Borini, however, spanned much further than a goal tally- he added a dynamism and directness to the side, he displayed vision and a genuine attacking threat during his time on Wearside. There is no doubt that Borini would be a good addition to the side, he is a very good player with a track record at the Stadium of Light. However, Dick Advocaat recently came out and stated that Jermain Defoe could not be expected to lead the line in a 4-3-3 formation as he is not a strong hold up man and I would argue that Borini can be put into the same categorisation as Defoe- a technical, quick and cultured striker. Borini is not a hold up man, he is not the man to replace the departed Connor Wickham, and indeed he is not the man to retain possession when balls are lumped upfield by a panicking defence. What Sunderland need is a target man, someone capable of bullying an established centre-half (Robert Huth and Wes Morgan were untroubled at the King Power Stadium) and laying off the ball for Defoe or Borini to run onto. The likelihood is that if Borini does return to Sunderland, he will once again be deployed as a winger to fill the gap vacated by the injured Adam Johnson. Rather than proactively building a stronger squad, Sunderland seem to be reactively going in for players as a response to injuries.
Another aspect of the proposed Borini deal which does not add up is its loan aspect. Supposedly, Borini is available for as little as £4million as he enters the final year of his contract and yet Sunderland are talking about a loan move. Even if Sunderland agree a future transfer fee clause, surely this is bad business? Borini will be available for free next summer so to offer Liverpool money to be paid next summer, presumably if Borini does well during his loan spell, is ludicrous. There is absolutely no guarantee that Borini will agree to move to Sunderland even if the future transfer fee is offered at the end of his loan spell, he could simply agree to go to another club on a Bosman as is his right. This outcome looks very likely when one considers his rejection of Sunderland’s terms last summer as he had to ‘protect the man’ that he was. When Dick Advocaat was lured out of retirement, Sunderland fans (and presumably Advocaat himself) hoped for investment in the side. The reality of the situation is, with two weeks left of the transfer window, Sunderland have a net expenditure of £6million. Surely the sensible thing to do would be to pay the money Liverpool want for Borini now? Again Sunderland’s transfer business is truly an enigma. What really rankles is other Premier League sides around Sunderland in the table are splashing the cash- Salomon Rondon’s £15million move to West Brom was the kind of transfer every fan dreams of.
To conclude, Borini would be a welcome addition at the Stadium of Light. However, talk of him being the answer to Sunderland’s striking problems is premature. Borini is not the target man Advocaat spoke about needing so one can only hope that Sunderland have other irons in the fire and pull something out of the bag before the transfer deadline.
