Bruce: Would you Adam and Eve it

AT LEAST once every day in January, when Adam Johnson’s mobile phone rang, it would be Steve Bruce on the other end of the line, with his regular habit of touching base with the England U21 international, to make sure he would be signing for Sunderland in the winter window.

After events at the Stadium of Light yesterday, it’s not difficult to see why he was so happy to run up a hefty bill in his ultimately fruitless pursuit of the midfielder.

Such was his dogged pursuit, Bruce was convinced he’d landed the 22-year-old from local rivals Middlesbrough. He was, after all, a Sunderland fan, brought up a stone’s throw from the Stadium of Light. That was until Manchester City blew the Wearside club out of the water by almost doubling their £25,000-a-week wage offer – and paying the £7.5million transfer fee in one hit.