Sunderland club secretary quoted confirming club agreement to buy midfielder

 

Earlier today we covered an article from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo which said Sunderland are close to signing Benfica midfielder Andreas Samaris in a €20m deal.

The newspaper claimed the Portuguese club liked the offer, and that the transfer should be decided after Sunderland’s clash against West Brom on Saturday. It was stated that a poor result could lead to David Moyes’ losing his job, and in that case… a transfer would be off.

Then we found out that Notícias Ao Minuto have published a similar story today, but this time mentioning an interesting source. Sunderland club secretary Brett Baker reportedly told them “the agreement is closed”, confirming the total agreement between the clubs.

But still, Notícias Ao Minuto mentions that David Moyes is vital for the transfer to happen. So the only thing pending is tomorrow’s result against the Baggies. The negotiations were reportedly held by the agent César Boaventura, who couldn’t be contacted by any of the outlets.

It’s incredibly strange for a club secretary to be confirming such talks, or an agreement, to an overseas newspaper, which would make one have doubts. But then, it would also be strange for a Portuguese news outlet to quote a named official at a club if they’d not spoken to the person.