'We tried a lot' - Championship boss sheds light on Kieffer Moore chase

Sunderland were very keen to bring Kieffer Moore to Wearside in January, but a rival Championship boss says the player was set on going elsewhere.

Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut has spoken about the Kieffer Moore transfer scramble and shed some light on why Sunderland also failed to get the striker.

Moore was a top target for Sunderland, but he decided to move to Ipswich on deadline day instead. It has worked out well for the Tractor Boys so far, with Moore bagging three goals in his first three games.

Sunderland have been heavily criticised by some supporters for their failure to land Moore but, according to Bulut, the player simply had his heart set on Ipswich and little could be done to sway him.

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Moore even has personal relationships with many of the Cardiff squad from both club and international level, and even they were unable to talk him into signing. Sunderland, then, were realistically always up against it.

"We tried a lot," Cardiff boss Bulut said of their attempts to sign Moore.

"I know from the board they pushed really hard to get him. His decision was to be with Ipswich, we cannot change it and we have to respect it. I tried hard. The players tried hard, because we had many talks with him.

“The board tried hard, but in the end it was the decision of the player. He decided to be with Ipswich, I don’t know, maybe he gets some extra things there, so he decided to go there.”

Another hurdle Sunderland faced was that both Ipswich and Cardiff were Moore's former clubs and a lot physically closer to his family base in the south. 

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