It came as no surprise when Sunderland withdrew their offer to sign Preston striker David Nugent. A colleague of mine predicted this when Nugent appeared to stall on the deal after Sunderland were given permission to talk to the England hitman after a £6m fee was agreed.

Quite frankly, Nugent wants to play for Everton - and Sunderland are not the Toffees.

If I am honest, I think this will ultimately backfire on Nugent. He is, in my opinion, a rather limited player and is certainly in the unproven category when it comes to Premier League strikers. His career record may show one start for the senior England side and one goal; however, anyone who saw Nugent kick the ball when it was already threequarters over the line after a Jermain Defoe strike will know this career stat means nothing.

'Nugent is no gentleman and nonchalantly going on holiday without having the courtesy to speak to Sunderland because he is waiting for Everton, shows his character'


The career statistics of Nugent, the 1,148th player to pull on an England shirt, are also not that impressive. His goals-to-games ratio is around one in four when most star strikers would expect somewhere closer to one in two. Some might argue he was playing in a poor team  but this must be balanced with the undeniable fact that the Championship is not as strong as the Premier League. Also, Preston have been one of the top Championship teams over the past few years, so he was hardly playing for the worst team in the league.

Michael Chopra, the Newcastle-born Cardiff striker, was billed as “the new Alan Shearer” when he first burst onto the scene at St James Park. Undoubtedly talented, Chopra fired in 22 goals for the Bluebirds last season yet he could not make it in the Premier League. Chopra's goals-to-games ratio of 0.40 compares favourably with Nugent (0.28). Yet the Cardiff man is a £500,000 player and Nugent is supposedly £6m; it doesn't make sense.

Roy Keane showed last season that he was a shrewd manager. Promotion was the headline grabber but it was the signing of the likes of Graham Kavanagh, Johnny Evans and Stern John that should have really been headlined. These were players that Keane knew would be successful in the Championship - and they certainly did their job. Equally, he turned Nyron Nosworthy from, in the words of one fan at a game early in the season, a player “who can control the ball further than I can kick it” to Sunderland’s Player of the Year for 2006/2007. Keane was not one to be messed with on the pitch and it would seem, he will not be someone to messed with while he is in the dugout either.

I fear that Nugent is the latest example of the “Baby Bentley” brigade who are threatening the game I love. At one time, the opportunity to play at the highest level would have been snapped up immediately, especially to work with a legend such as Keane. These days, it is more about who can pay the most and waiting for the big clubs to come along or take second best at a premium. Nugent is no gentleman and nonchalantly going on holiday without having the courtesy to speak to Sunderland because he is waiting for Everton, shows his character.

I say Sunderland have had a lucky escape and I also believe that Nugent is on the slippery slope. It is just a shame that he will be paid millions as he falls from grace.

* Career statistics obtained from www.soccerbase.com