Sunderland AFC transfer rumours RECAP: Jordan Jones set to join Ipswich Town as Cats eye full-back for under £500k

The club have announced contract extensions for Aiden McGeady and Luke O’Nien as well as several signings for their youth team.

Those deals were strengthened by the arrival of Alex Pritchard, Callum Doyle and Corry Evans.

And Lee Johnson has spoken of his hopes that the club can bring in two new players before the season opener.

“We’re working really hard behind the scenes and a lot of that is to put yourself in a position where you’ve got the options,” he said.

“You have a list, sometimes five, ten, and you’ve got to make sure it’s a quality list and that it fits with what you’re trying to do.”

But what do we know about Sunderland’s latest transfer target Gallacher? Here, we take a look:

Tony Gallacher – fact file

Position: Left-back

Age: 22-years-old

Club: Liverpool

Born: Glasgow

Nationality: Scottish

So what is the story with Tony Gallacher and Sunderland?

Sunderland have made an approach for Liverpool full-back Gallacher.

A deal to bring the 22-year-old defender to the Stadium of Light on loan should happen tomorrow, according to Alan Nixon of The Sun.

The Wearside club were said to be interested in a permanent deal for Gallacher but that prospect seems to be dead for the moment with a temporary move the preference.

The Black Cats are short in the left-back area after releasing Callum McFadzean at the end of the season.

Indeed, Lee Johnson is still waiting on Denver Hume’s contract decision as the defender weighs up fresh terms on Wearside.

What experience does Tony Gallacher have?

Gallacher joined Scottish outfit Falkirk as a graduate from the Forth Valley Football Academy in the summer of 2015, having played for the club’s youth teams since the age of 10.

Impressively, Gallacher made his debut for the club as a sixteen-year-old in a Scottish Cup tie at home to Fraserburgh.

He then went on to win a first league start in a Scottish Championship match against Dumbarton in 2016.

in 2018, Liverpool signed Gallacher after a successful trial for a fee of £200,000.

Indeed, Gallacher made his competitive debut for the Reds a year later, starting in a 5-0 League Cup defeat at Aston Villa.

Gallacher enjoyed a loan stint at Canadian club Toronto FC in Major League Soccer, making nine appearances during his time at the club.

Why are Liverpool keen for Tony Gallacher to depart?

According to reports in Liverpool, Gallacher is one a number of academy players likely to leave Anfield ahead of the start of the new campaign.

That’s because the Reds reportedly want to free up wages and find clubs for players who are unlikely to break through on Merseyside.

Indeed, first-team stars Xherdan Shaqiri, Nat Phillips, and Divock Origi are likely to leave this summer alongside the already departed Gini Wijnaldum.

The Liverpool Echo state that Gallacher would be best suited to making a permanent move away in order to play senior football on a regular basis.

Lee Johnson says Sunderland must resolve Denver Hume’s future before the start of the League One campaign.

The young left back is still recovering from injury at the Academy of Light, with Johnson generally optimistic that an agreement will be reached.

However, a final resolution has not been forthcoming and the Black Cats head coach is acutely aware of the need to recruit should the youngster depart.

Johnson believes it vital that the situation is resolved before Wigan Athletic visit the Stadium of Light.

That date is significant as players continued to be paid by clubs for around a month after their deals initially expire.

“Denver is still injured and hasn’t signed a contract, simple as that,” Johnson said.

“I think it’s got to be resolved, one way or another.

“It’s restrictive to us if he’s not going to sign, and it’s not ideal if he is going to sign.

“I’ve said before that I see Luke O’Nien and Aiden McGeady as signings and Denver is in the same bracket.

“It’s Denver or another.

“We need to make sure we resolve that and I expect it to be resolved over the next ten days.

“For me the deadline is seventh of August, simple as that.”

Speaking after the 0-0 draw with Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night, Johnson said that young Liverpool left-back Tony Gallacher is a player of interest as they look to recruit in the left-back position.

He would not be drawn on claims that a deal was imminent, but said he was optimistic of further arrivals soon.

“I’ve seen the media reports, we know of him,” he said.

“He’s a player on a list of ten or twelve options.

“We always want two for every position, and the plan is always to go in with probably 20 senior players and maybe four of the better younger ones to supplement that.

“It’s a long season and we saw how much those injuries affected us.

“We’re in the market, and we’ll see what happens.

“Sometimes these things can take a week, two weeks, sometimes they drop in a day.

“We’re certainly in the mix for a few and depending on what has happened behind the scenes today, we’ll see.

“Watch this space.”

Ipswich Town are hoping to sign Jordan Jones from Rangers this summer after Steven Gerrard gave the winger’s exit the green-light.

That’s according to Football League World.

Jones made 21 appearances for the Black Cats in League One last season, scoring three goals.

Ipswich and Sunderland are joined by League One rivals, Wigan Athletic, in showing an interest in Jones, who also has a Championship admirer in the form of Blackpool.

The move to Ipswich is said to be another loan move.

Sunderland are ‘ready to make a move’ for Scotland international Stephen O’Donnell.

That’s according to Football League World.

FLW’s report states: “Football League World has been told that the Black Cats feel as though they could get the player in this summer for less than £500,000, with him currently possessing two years left on his contract with the men from Fir Park having joined them in 2020 from Kilmarnock.”