• Premier League

Bruce abandons his pursuit of Crouch

ESPN staff
August 13, 2010
Peter Crouch has played his part in Tottenham Hotspur's pre-season campaign © Getty Images
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Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has revealed that preliminary discussions with Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp have led him to abandon his pursuit of Peter Crouch.

Bruce is eager to bring a striker to the Stadium of Light after allowing Kenwyne Jones to complete a move to Stoke City earlier this week for £8 million.

Spurs forward Crouch appears to have been top of Bruce's list of targets, but Redknapp gave him short shrift when the prospect of a transfer was raised. "I've heard from Harry and I don't think he'll let Crouch go," Bruce admitted.

The Sunderland boss has also pleaded with fans to place their trust in him after a summer of vast upheaval in the club's playing squad.

Bruce estimates he has dispensed with the services of more than 25 players, with only seven brought in as replacement - most notably Nedum Onuoha and Danny Welbeck, who have joined on loan from Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

He insists that all these dealings will be to the benefit of the club in the long-term as they look to build on last season's underwhelming 13th-place finish in the Premier League.

"The big thing for the supporters - and for me - is who am I going to replace Kenwyne with? That's absolutely vital," he told the Mirror. "But with the money we've got from Kenwyne, we'll look to put it back into a top-class striker, if I can find one.

"It's important people trust me. It's something like 26 or 27 players that I've moved out now - a huge number - and it's not finished yet."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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