DONALD SEES EISA BID KO’D
Cheltenham looking for £1.5m for 25-goal Eisa
Cheltenham Town have rejected Sunderland’s bid for Mo Eisa.
Sunderland submitted a bid of over £1million for the 24-year-old striker, who the Black Cats have targeted to add firepower to their attack.
But Cheltenham have turned down the offer, with the League Two club believed to value the player closer to £1.5million.
Sunderland chairman Stewart Donald had revealed yesterday that he hoped Cheltenham would accept a ‘fantastic’ offer for the Sudan-born Eisa, who scored 23 goals in League Two last season, plus two in cup competitions.
Asked about Sunderland’s bid for Eisa on the Roker Report website, Donald said: “They (Cheltenham) have not come back to us, but that bid is strong.
“I think we have chased them 20 times.
“As I understand it from the football feedback I’m getting, and I don’t know if it’s accurate and Cheltenham would have to confirm, but I think our bid is the strongest bid and the closest to their valuation. I think it’s a fantastic bid for the player.
“I would hope Cheltenham would accept that and see that as a serious bid. It’s a proper bid.
“It’s over a million (pounds). I think that will be our biggest transfer.
“I see people saying we should be in for Jack Marriott (of Peterborough United), but he’s £6.5million apparently quoted and that’s out of our ball park.”
Cheltenham have already rejected seven-figure bids from Sunderland’s League One rivals Pe- terborough and Portsmouth for Eisa, who has two years left on his contract.
Pompey are understood to have several offers turned down. Boss Kenny Jackett is willing to let 21-year-old striker Conor Chaplin leave Fratton Park, with Coventry tipped as a potential destination, but he will not be allowed to go until a replacement is on board.
Meanwhile, Sunderland also have bids in for Bradford City striker Charlie Wyke and Reading midfielder George Evans as Donald admits he’s getting ‘itchy’ as he tries to boost Jack Ross’s resources ahead of the new season.
Peterborough striker Marriott is one of the most wanted strikers outside of the Championship, but Donald says, despite their strong budget, the Black Cats have to cut their cloth accordingly.
He added: “I said we would have the biggest budget in the league by quite a way and it would be a budget that some teams in the Championship would love that – and that’s a fact. That’s what we will have.
“I also said we would have a transfer kitty that, by League One standards, is a fantastic kitty and that’s what we have got. “But there’s not many teams in League One spending £6million on a player.”
On Wyke, Donald revealed that Sunderland’s bid hasn’t been accepted by Bradford yet, but he remains confident of striking a deal for the former Middlesbrough and Carlisle frontman.
He added: “We have spoken to Bradford face to face and I think they have placed a valuation on the player that is reasonable.”
Donald also revealed that Sunderland are in negotiations over personal terms with Evans and that the two parties are ‘not a million miles away’.