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Cats in for Bassong
Newcastle United, 13:38, June 6, 2009 ,
Sunderland are hoping to swoop on arch rivals Newcastle by completing a deal for Magpies defender Sebastien Bassong.
Bassong was one of the few Newcastle players to come out of last season's disastrous campaign with any credit and a number of Premier League clubs are in the hunt to sign him.
New Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is keen to bolster a defence that leaked goals last season and Bassong could be one of the first players he makes a move for.
Reports also claim that the Black Cats could hijack Newcastle's attempts to land the Norway international midfielder Per Ciljan Skjelbred, who is expected to leave Rosenborg for £5million this summer.