One of Sunderland’s recent loanee’s future is still in doubt, over which club he should actually be playing at. Rumour had it that if Sunderland stayed up last season, they were required to pay Inter Milan a fee believed to be in the region of £8-million as part of the loan agreement.
The issues arose when Alvarez suffered a knee injury which required surgery, a procedure that Sunderland believed the Italian giants should approve, except they hesitated. Sunderland believed that Inter’s lack of approving Alvarez’s required surgery, resulted in a breach of contract regarding the Alvarez loan agreement. Alvarez has been stuck in limbo since the end of last season, despite spending the second half of the season on loan at Sampdoria while his long-term future was up in the air.
There has been indication that FIFA are leaning towards backing the Italian side meaning that Sunderland will be forced to pay the full amount owed. However, the Sunderland Echo report that Sunderland will appeal FIFA’s decision should they side with Inter Milan.
While Alvarez occasionally looked to be a useful addition to the Sunderland side, he also struggled with the demands of the Premier League, with only two or three decent performances. With FIFA still deciding where Alvarez’s future lays, Sunderland may be forced to cough up the £8-million fee, in addition to add-on clauses over current players Kaboul and Borini.
The Alvarez situation may make a huge dent in Sunderland’s transfer kitty for the season, on a player that may not even be able to get into the squad.
