Raging transfer gossip, and taking the higher moral ground

A few hours after this posting appeared came official news that Keiren Westwood and Seb Larsson have agreed terms and will sign on July 1 … read the report at this link

As transfer fever rises and Sunderland supporters grow impatient, safc.com leads its news pages, in almost surreal fashion, with a scintillating item headlined “SoL groundstaff pressing ahead”.

But we acknowledge their dilemma. Let it be known to readers that Salut! Sunderland is also fully aware that …

* Ji Dong-won has actually joined us from Chunnam Dragons, the South Korean club itself having said he’s signed

* Connor Wickham wants to leave Ipswich but not to come to Wearside if there is a subs’ bench place to keep warm at Anfield

* Keiren Westwood is no longer a Coventry City goalkeeper but ours (with interesting knock-on effects, as Messrs Gordon and Mignolet would doubtless confirm). News now confirmed …

* we may or may not have a chance, despite reports of wild pay demands, of bringing Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan

* it is not yet a cast-iron fact that we’ve seen the last of Danny Welbeck

* Nedum Onuoha could return if Man City lower their optimistic asking price

* Seb Larsson has had/is having his medical and his offer and must now decide between us and a move across Birmingham to stick with his old boss (see here for happy news about the choice he’s made)

* an awful long time has elapsed since we were meant to have just about clinched the signature of David Ngog

* and even longer since we were reportedly on the point of signing all or any of these Man United players: Darron Gibson, Wes Brown and John O’Shea

But we’ll say no more until this or that deal is done and dusted. On none of the above reports has the club, at the time of writing, said a word.

It is deeply frustrating waiting for definitive news but, as suggested the other day, ridiculously early to panic and ridiculously unrealistic to expect SAFC to abandon its sluggish ways, even as the official site is allowed/encouraged to retail and even reTweet the daily diet of rumours.

Salut! Sunderland‘s policy, all the same, remains unchanged. Unless there is good reason to comment – the Gyan and Henderson speculation being two unanswerable examples, Mr Birflatt Boy! – we will wait for that official statement. And if the above list looks like a none-too-subtle attempt to have it both ways, we plead guiltyish (the list could have been a lot longer).