Roker Roundup: Sunderland youngster joins Tunisian club & Cattermole wanted by VVV Venlo boss

VVV coach excited by Catts

Lee Cattermole joined Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo last week on trial as he looks for a new club following his summer departure from Sunderland.

Sunderland’s former captain is a free agent and is using the move to get fit, as well as checking to see if he and the club would be a good match ahead of a potential move.

The Dutch club’s coach Robert Maaskant is already in no doubt that signing Cattermole would be a huge boost for his side:

That is a serious option.

It is special that a club like VVV can get a player of that kind of caliber. That would be a huge boost for us.

Former Sunderland loanee Jerome Sinclair signed for the club earlier in the summer and revealed after his side’s 4-1 defeat by Ajax that he talked with Cattermole regarding the club but does not believe he had any influence on the player joining VVV on trial:

Catts is training with us to get fit. It looked good.

Of course I only had good things to say about the club. It would be nice if I had pulled him over, but it was all his decision, I think.

Youngster finds new club

Sunderland academy product Rayed Derbali has joined Tunisian top flight side CA Bizertin.

The French defender had spent the last two years in the academy playing for the under-18s but has now signed a four-year deal with the Northern Sharks.

The 18-year-old revealed that the club’s reputation for bringing through young players was key in his decision to join the club:

I am very happy to join the CAB. I am happy because I arrive in a big Tunisian club, especially with an ambitious project for the years to come.

I am young and I come to the CAB with a huge desire to continue my progress. The CAB offers very good conditions for the evolution of young players, it is a purely sporting choice.

Ba set for Guingamp

Ligue 2 side Guingamp lost Didier Ndong and Papy Djilobodji this summer, with the duo signing for Dijon and Gazisehir Gaziantep respectively.

They were obviously not happy with their former Sunderland player quota though, as they are set to sign El-Hadji Ba from Lens.

The midfielder is on the verge of making the move to to Guingamp, with the club’s president Bertrand Desplat saying signing such a proven Ligue 2 player can only help the team:

A good Ligue 2 player, who will make an impact in the midfield, he will give us a lot. He has some experience of this division and even the one above.

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