The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Cats keeping a very close eye on Foxes’ Dan
SUNDERLAND have been linked with Leicester City shotstopper Daniel Iversen as they look to ramp up their preparations for the new Championship season.
Lee Burge was released by the Black Cats at the end of last season, while Ron-thorben Hoffman has returned to Germany following the end of his loan spell at the Stadium of Light.
That leaves Anthony Patterson as Sunderland’s only first-team goalkeeper.
However, it appears the Black Cats are set to enter the market for another No 1 this summer in the form of Iversen.
The 24-year-old has spent the last two seasons on loan at Preston North End, making 71 appearances during his time at Deepdale.
He kept 13 clean sheets last season in the Championship, helping Preston to a 13th-place finish.
Sunderland are said to have competition for the Danish shoptstopper with multiple Championship sides interested in Iversen.
Middlesbrough are just one of the other sides monitoring Iversen, with boss Chris Wilder keen to improve his options between the sticks.
While Patterson impressed for Sunderland last season, Iversen is proven at Championship level.
However, it seems unlikely he will displace Leicester City first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel heading into the new season, making a loan move back to the Championship all the more likely.
Meanwhile, Sunderland fan favourite Luke O’nien has sent Black Cats supporters a heartfelt message ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign.
Never shy of putting himself about on the pitch, O’nien played a pivotal role in helping Sunderland jump back to the second tier of English football for the first time since 2018.
Primarily a central midfielder, the 27-year-old has featured all over the park for the Black Cats during his time on Wearside and has experienced his fair share of highs and lows at the Stadium of Light.
He played all 90 minutes of Sunderland’s famous Wembley win which saw the Black Cats beat Wycombe 2-0 and has revealed what was going through his head minutes before the play-off final kicked off.
He said in his message: “I was simply standing in awe, just taking it in, 45,000-plus of you singing your hearts out for us.
“Thank you for the four years of support you have given me - I have had amazing moments with you but this is right up there.”