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Fabio Borini may be determined to fight for his future at Liverpool, but Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is just as determined to convince him that what's best for his future is to join permanently the club he had so much success at last season on loan. To that end, Poyet still believes a deal for the 23-year-old striker can be made to happen.
"We are involved in negotiations and you never know how long they can take," said Poyet. "There's nothing new to report as things stand, but we are still hoping to close the deal. It's up to Fabio. We have been clear, everything is fine—there's no doubt about his connection to our club and we get along, so there's no reason for it not to happen."
Borini's agent this week had suggested that both he and the striker had been in conversation and weren't afraid to fight for his place at Liverpool. The player, having returned to England two years ago to reunite with Brendan Rodgers and join a project at Liverpool he believed in, isn't eager to give up and move on to a new stage in his career.
Even if he is willing to fight, though, the depth chart at Liverpool doesn't offer a great deal of hope for minutes with Daniel Sturridge, Rickie Lambert, and the soon to arrive Loic Remy all ahead of him. At Sunderland, meanwhile, he was named young player of the season and would be a lock for the starting eleven week in and week out.
"I would love to know how long it will take to sort out," added Poyet, who remains convinced that it is something that can be sorted out eventually. "All I can tell you is things are changing every day. We have targets that we are looking at, we have other options, but we have an agreement with Liverpool and will do everything possible to get Fabio to the club first.
"If Fabio does not come it does not set us back. We would move on—we are not a one-player team. It's been a bit more difficult than I expected, but we're not going to stop."
