Muntari deal sunk due to form not cash

SULLEY MUNTARI'S hopes of a summer move to Sunderland have foundered due to his form and not his wage demands, despite his agent's claims.

The Inter Milan midfielder joined Sunderland on loan in January for the remainder of the season with a view to a permanent switch.

But Muntari’s agent Fabien Piveteau today claimed that the Ghana international would not be moving to Wearside in the summer because the Black Cats cannot afford his £100,000-a-week wages on top of a transfer fee of around £7m.

He said: “There is no chance for Sulley. They have decided he is too expensive.”

Certainly, Sunderland would have had to smash their wage structure and make former Portsmouth man Muntari the best paid player in the club’s history to land the 26-year-old.

However ,the Chronicle understands that owner Ellis Short would have sanctioned the signing if boss Steve Bruce felt Muntari’s form justified his price-tag.

Instead, Muntari has failed to have the impact that Bruce expected when he brought him back to the Premier League.

Of his eight outings in a red and white shirt, he impressed on his debut at Stoke and his best performance came in the 4-2 win over Wigan 11 days ago when he had a hand in three of the goals after coming on for the final 25 minutes as a substitute.

But, those two games apart, he has been unable to reproduce the form that earned him his big-money move from Portsmouth to Inter three years ago.

Piveteau also represents Muntari’s compatriot John Mensah, and has suggested that the on-loan Lyon defender could return to Sunderland for a third season-long loan next term, despite another injury-dogged season on Wearside.

He said: “For John there is a good chance.

“The situation with him is that if he played 25 games he would definitely sign for Sunderland, but he has only played 18 at the moment.

“He has not played all of the games, but this season it has been a different type of injuries for John.”

Bruce is a big admirer of Mensah but, even though his long-term back trouble has not flared up this season, doubts over his fitness remain after he missed chunks of the season with shoulder, hamstring and groin problems.

No final decision has yet been taken on Mensah, but Bruce is due to sit down with Short, chairman Niall Quinn and chief executive Steve Walton in the near future to discuss the club’s transfer plans for the summer, and they may decide that taking him on again would be too much of a risk.

In addition, the concern is that Mensah’s patchy fitness record could mean that Bruce would end up chopping and changing his defence on a regular basis to accommodate the 28-year-old.

Even though the futures of Muntari and Mensah are uncertain, both could be involved when the Black Cats go to Bolton this weekend.

Muntari is likely to start while Mensah could be on the bench – if he recovers from the groin problem that has ruled him out of the last three games.