Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson has issued an update on Ranger midfielder Greg Docherty as he looks to bring him to Wearside this month on-loan.
The Black Cats’ manager has his first chance to strengthen his side following his appointment in October and is looking to add a host of names to rejuvenate his squad ahead of a promotion push in the second half of the season.
Parkinson’s tenure on Wearside got off to a torrid start as the side slumped from flirting with the play-off places to dropping into the bottom half of League One in recent months before he turned around their form around the festive period, seeing them just a place and a point below sixth-placed Burton Albion.
Sunderland have recently been strongly linked with a loan move for Rangers’ outcast midfielder Greg Docherty, and Parkinson has spoken about this in his pre-match Press conference, stating (as quoted by the Chronicle): “Greg is a player we have looked at and we have had initial chats with Rangers. There is a number of discussions going on and we will reconvene on that after Saturday.”
Docherty has barely featured for Steven Gerrard’s side this season, featuring in the domestic cups and Europa League qualification so far, and benefitted massively from a loan to Shrewsbury last campaign.
Gerrard commented this morning on Docherty’ current situation, quoted by the Chronicle as saying: "I think Greg had a real strong loan at Shrewsbury.
"This is a player we respect really much due to his effort but unfortunately it hasn't happened this season and the best thing for his career is to go and play.
"There is a real serious club in for Docherty. Negotiations are ongoing. That is getting closer and closer and I predict something could happen in the next couple of days.
"Hopefully he gets out in the next couple of days so he can start to play some football. Sometimes these negotiations take longer than you would like but in an ideal scenario I would like to see him start playing regular football in the coming days rather than in the coming weeks."
Both parties are suggesting that this deal has the potential to be done soon, but there is interest from elsewhere in his signature so the Black Cats may have to move fast to secure him.
Can you name these 15 ex-Sunderland strikers?
The verdict
Parkinson is recruiting some solid players this transfer window and continuing to work hard to strengthen his team in a way that helps push the club to where they believe they should be, come the end of the season.
Docherty is in desperate need of first-team action at the moment after being frozen out for the Rangers’ side and Sunderland’s inconsistency could be a great avenue for him to nail down a regular first-team spot somewhere.