Nottingham Forest and Sunderland are battling each other to sign Middlesbrough’s Grant Leadbitter for a bargain fee according to a report from TeamTalk.
The 32-year-old midfielder has been at Middlesbrough since 2012 after he signed for them from Ipswich Town on a free transfer. He has been a fan favourite during his time at the Riverside, clocking over 200 appearances in his six years at the club. But it appears that his time at the club is coming to an end. Their head coach Tony Pulis is looking to move players on and despite his good reputation at the club, Leadbitter is set to be one of those leaving.
And this has attracted the attention of both Nottingham Forest and Sunderland. Leadbitter’s best period at Middlesbrough came under Forest manager Aitor Karanka and he may be able to repeat that should he head to the East Midlands. But Leadbitter started his career at Sunderland after being a fan of the club as a young boy and even though they have a season in Sky Bet League One ahead of them, the Black Cat in the midfielder may tempt him to return to the Stadium of Light to become a hero.
What makes both teams eager to sign Leadbitter is that Middlesbrough are willing to sell him for a cut price fee. So even though the wages will be high, and Sunderland may need their Tees-Wear rivals to continue paying part of the former Ipswich man’s wages for a while, both teams are keen to snap up a quality player for a low fee.
