:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37767424/488647461.0.jpg)
Fabio Borini has had one foot out the door at Liverpool and Gus Poyet waiting for him with open arms at Sunderland for well over a month now, and yet here we are on the final day of the transfer window and it remains far from clear what will happen with the striker. The Sunderland manager, though, isn't giving up yet.
"Yes," was his straightforward reply when the Sunderland Echo asked if he still hoped that they could complete the Borini signing before the end of the day. "I know Fabio and I'm a big believer that when you know the players, you know what you are going to get—you are convinced that he's the right player with the right mentality."
A £14M fee has been agreed between the clubs for some time, and it remains on the table. There have been recent suggestions that both Inter and AC Milan could be interested, but in the grand tradition of Italian clubs looking for a handout both have been rumoured to have been seeking to acquire the player on loan. Unsurprisingly, a loan hasn't tempted Liverpool.
Back in Sunderland, despite the appearance suggesting that the player doesn't favour a full time move to the club he spent last season on loan at, Poyet insists that isn't the case—but that he can't say exactly what the case actually is. Whatever it might be, the Fabio Borini situation looks both as far from and close to a resolution as it has for ages now.
"I know how people think, but unfortunately we cannot give the true information over why he's not with us," added Poyet. "From the outside, it looks like he doesn't want to come to Sunderland, but I can promise you it's not like that. I keep it open because he's still a Liverpool player and so maybe he can be a Sunderland player."
