Newly promoted English Championship outfit Sunderland are plotting a free transfer move for experienced goalkeeper John Ruddy. Englishman Ruddy is available on a free transferthis summer as he has a few weeks left on his current deal at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Apart from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ruddy has also played for Norwich City in the Premier League.
The interest of Sunderland in Ruddy was revealed by the report from the Daily Mirror with the Black Cats keen to bolster their goalkeeping options. Sunderland are keen to boost the quality of players in their squad ahead of their return to the English Championship after four years. The Black Cats are back in English football’s second tier after winning the League One playoff final.
Northeast outfit Sunderland secured their return to the Championship after a four-year absence following the 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the playoff final as far as League One football is concerned. The Black Cats qualified for the League One playoff final after seeing off Sheffield Wednesday over two legs in their playoff semi-final tie, while Wycombe Wanderers made the playoff final for seeing off MK Dons over two legs in their playoff semi-final tie.
In the goalkeeping department, Sunderland manager Alex Neil is weighing up his options and 35-year-old Ruddy is one of his options. The Black Cats ended the season with academy graduate Anthony Patterson as their first-choice in the goalkeeping department.
Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge is also attracting interest from Lincoln City. Burge will be a free agent in a matter of few weeks.Another Sunderland goalkeeping option Thorben Hoffman is set to return to parent club Bayern Munich after the end of his loan spell at the Stadium of Light.The Bayern Munich loaneehas already given his farewell to the Sunderland supporters via social media.