12 Ridiculous Sunderland Transfer Rumours That Never Happened

6. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Ruud Van Nistelrooy is criminally overlooked when people look back through the Premier League greats. Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Didier Drogba and Dennis Bergkamp will all come to mind when looking at incredible strikers to grace the English top flight, and Van Nistelrooy deserves to be in that elite group with his goal tally for Manchester United resting at 150 in 219 games. Rumours were floating around that Peter Reid took the Dutchman on trial for Sunderland when he was a teenager, though no confirmation was ever made, though Sunderland did make a move to sign him in 2011 on a free transfer after leaving Hamburg. A deal never transpired, and even though the 34-year-old may not have shone in the Premier League like he had before, a Van Nistelrooy Sunderland shirt would've been a tremendous keepsake.