Sunderland boss Niall Quinn was in Germany to sort out a deal for 26-year old German defender Heiko Westermann. His stellar performances in defence helped Schalke attain the second position in the league behind Bayern Munich. Westermann, who has missed the World Cup due to injury, had been Steve Bruce’s top target over the summer break. A deal of around £6m is being talked about.
Westermann has played 17 times for Germany and was part of the team that lost to Spain in the finals of the 2008 European Championships. He moved to Schalke in 2007 from Armenia Bielefield. He played 92 games for Schalke notching up 12 goals – an impressive tally for a defender.
Sunderland are among a host of clubs tracking the progress of Ivory Coast striker Gervinho at the World Cup. But they have refuted suggestions that the club might be interested in West Ham’s Matthew Upson.
Westermann’s signing would be the fourth of the close season after Paraguayan midfielder Cristian Riveros, Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and Argentine full-back Marcos Angeleri.
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