Jack Rodwell goes on trial to Vitesse Arnhem despite still being on £70,000 Sunderland contract
England international insists he 'just wants to play football' after being made an outcast for refusing to quit his bumper deal
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JACK RODWELL has gone on trial to Vitesse Arnhem – despite still being contracted at Sunderland.
The midfielder, who has 18 months left on his £70,000-a-week deal, has not played for the Black Cats since September.
Sunderland are desperate to get the flop off their wage bill and have offered to terminate his contract so he can leave on a free transfer.
Rodwell, 26, last week said he would not walk away for nothing unless he finds another club.
But he has now been offered a career lifeline by Dutch club Vitesse and will hope to land a deal with the Eredivisie outfit.
The England international would earn £5.4million if he let his contract run down at the Stadium of Light.
The ex-Everton star and Premier League winner with Manchester City insists that he is not financially motivated and just wants to play first-team football.
He said: "For me, it's not about money, it's about playing.
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"If that means moving on to help the club in a situation that suited all parties, I would need no convincing.
"I'm a footballer, I want a football club.
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“Why would I just walk away and be left jobless? The transfer window has two weeks to run and I'm prepared to do anything to play.
"Any decision will be based on the chance to play football, not money."
Rodwell was the only Black Cats player from last season whose deal did not include an automatic 40 per cent salary reduction when the Wearsiders were relegated.
He has made just two Championship appearances this season and was booed by his own fans during his only start at home to Sheffield United in September.
Rodwell has been training away from the first team and is not expected to feature again under Chris Coleman.
He has made just 44 league starts in total during his three-and-a-half years at Sunderland.
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