David Moyes’ strategy at Sunderland is one which has worked for many a bottom-half Premier League manager in the past.
The Scotsman has made it clear he intends to gather up the deadwood from some of the bigger clubs, most notably his old side Manchester United, and put them all together to form a team capable of staying in the top flight.
As anyone who has watched their first two games of the season will know, that hasn’t really worked, at least not yet.
Moyes is therefore now thinking more carefully about who he brings in, with the Daily Mail reporting that he has turned down the chance to sign Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool on a season-long loan.
The centre-back has gone from hero to villain in a matter of months at Anfield. While he has now been cleared of using fat-burning substances, an offence which saw him ruled out of the end of last season, further disciplinary problems have followed, with Jurgen Klopp sending him home from the pre-season tour of the USA.
Sunderland was an obvious destination because of their defensive problems, particularly as Lamine Kone is being targeted by Everton. All the same, Moyes believes that Sakho is too similar to his other new signing, Papy Djilobodji
Either way, it’s a damning indictment of Sakho that even the Premier League’s relegation fodder don’t want him, so his future in England is now in severe doubt.
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