Michael Turner is ‘certainly not’ for sale, but others are – Steve Bruce rules out exit for Sunderland defender

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has rejected rumours linking Michael Turner with a move away from the club.

The former Hull City stopper has been linked with Bolton Wanderers as a potential replacement for Arsenal and Tottenham target Gary Cahill.

But while Bruce rebuffed claims that Turner could leave the Stadium of Light, he did concede that other defenders could be leaving.

Bruce told the Northern Echo: “There are players we’d like to move on, but Michael Turner definitely does not fall into that category.

“The thing about Michael is that he’s a big lad and he’s been out for a long time. It’s fair to say that he still needs more games, but he’s coming back from injury and it’s important that we don’t rush him.”

“I think we all know who I’m talking about – Nyron Nosworthy, Matt Kilgallon and George McCartney all need to go and play somewhere.

“They’re the ones who we’ll look to move on,” Bruce continued, “but none of my first-team squad and certainly not Michael Turner. I want all of our big players to stay.”