Sunderland complete after hours deal for Stoke target but with a catch
Sunderland have confirmed the loan signing of Jayden Danns in the day after the transfer deadline but the young forward will stay at Liverpool for now.
Danns' medical has revealed a back injury which requires "a period of rest and rehabilitation". He had missed the first half of the season with a stress fracture in his lower back but had been involved recently, playing 83 minutes in the Champions League last week, and this development seems unexpected.
The 19-year-old had been on plenty of Championship clubs' long lists of potentially available targets over the last few weeks, including Stoke City, in the knowledge that Arne Slot would only probably sanction an exit late in the window. Sunderland decided to press ahead with the deal in hope that he could offer what the Sunderland Echo describes as "valuable competition and cover" in the final few weeks of the season.
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Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “His availability was always going to be determined late in the window due to Liverpool’s schedule and the demand for him was high, so we worked extremely hard to secure the player. It’s unfortunate that the medical process highlighted an issue that ultimately requires Jayden to take a period of rest.
"Despite this, he remained highly motivated to come to Sunderland and as such we agreed to collaborate with Liverpool to ensure there is an opportunity for him to join us at a later date. We remain excited by the prospect of working with him and look forward to supporting him throughout the upcoming period.”
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