Black Cats role for John Barnes

Former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes has agreed to become a part-time Caribbean scout for Sunderland.

Barnes, who was born in Jamaica, will hold coaching clinics and offer trials at the Stadium of Light to young players who will then have to impress Black Cats boss Roy Keane.

Barnes told The Guardian: “I’ll be choosing the best players to go to Sunderland. They recognise that, although Africa is saturated (with scouts) the Caribbean is the next place they are going to get the talent to hopefully grace the Premier League.”

Sunderland already have Trinidad and Tobago internationals Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards in their team.