Sunderland’s £70k-a-week outcast Jack Rodwell in talks over free transfer to Greek side Aris
The 27-year-old England international has cost the Black Cats a whopping £4,700 per minute of first-team football since his arrival in 2014
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SUNDERLAND are finally on the verge of getting £70,000-a-week Jack Rodwell off their wage bill, according to reports.
The 27-year-old England international has not played for the League One side since September after being frozen out by Chris Coleman.
Now claim his time on Wearside could be over.
They say that the ex-Everton and Manchester City star is in talks with Greek Superleague side Aris.
Rodwell, who joined in a £10.25m move from City in 2014, is available on a free transfer and unlikely to earn anywhere near as much as his wage packet and the Stadium of Light.
He was the only Black Cats player from the Premier League era whose deal did not include an automatic 40 per cent salary reduction when the Wearsiders were relegated 12 months ago.
He made just two Championship appearances last season and was booed by his own fans during his only start at home to Sheffield United in September.
Sunderland now hope they will finally be able to get the midfielder off their books following a second-successive relegation into the third tier.
He is believed to have rejected the club’s offer to terminate his deal in January, despite a trail at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, and continued to train with their youth team.
With transfer fee and wages combined, Rodwell has cost the Black Cats a whopping £4,700 per minute of first-team football.
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But in a revealing interview with in January, Rodwell stressed he is motivated by a desire to play regular first-team football more than the money he was being paid at Sunderland.
He said: "For me, it's not about money, it's about playing. 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. 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."