Sunderland's potential move for ex-Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue depends on his fitness, according to manager Sam Allardyce.
Surprise move
Eboue has been a free agent since last summer after been released by Turkish giants Galatasaray and it was revealed on Thursday that he has been training with the Black Cats.
Allardyce was looking to recruit a new right-back during the January transfer window to provide competition for Billy Jones and DeAndre Yedlin.
The Wearside club looked to have secured a temporary move for Arsenal’s Mathieu Debuchy, but that fell through and Allardyce is now keen to improve Eboue’s fitness to help bolster his options.
Allardyce has told the Chronicle that a move for 32-year-old is a “possibility” after it was widely known that they were “looking for that position” during the window, and he hopes a deal for the defender would “spur the other lads [on]” as they look to continue to perform.
Speaking of his current options, he added that Jones has a “lot of experience” whilst Yedlin has “very little experience at this level.” The American has been given very few opportunities recently as, though the manager believes he has got “a lot of qualities,” he also thinks it’s a “massive ask” of him to perform consistently at this stage of the season - especially “under the pressure [Sunderland are] under”.
Heaps of praise
Speaking ahead of Sunderland's clash with Manchester United this weekend, Allardyce also took the opportunity to heap praise on their potential new signing.
Eboue spent six years in North London before his move to Turkey in 2011, and Allardyce knows he is of “great pedigree” having watched him perform at the highest level with Arsenal. Now, he will assess the player “over the next few weeks” to see if he has the capability to reproduce that quality.
He added that the defender hasn’t played football for a “long time” so the main question is whether he can get fit in order to put in performances that could “benefit” the Black Cats.