Lorik Cana is currently taking a career break due to some persistent injuries. The former Albania national team captain has played football in some of the biggest leagues in Europe.
He has played in Italy, England, Turkey and most recently returned to France with Nantes.
However, after signing
a two-year deal with Nantes
upon being released by Italian side Lazio, Cana cut short the contract with the French side in an effort to recover from injury and in the hope it would help him prolong his career.
The utility man has won many fans over the years for his dedication to his craft and industrious nature on the pitch. Cana had a successful, albeit short stint at Sunderland in the Premier League, and in 2015 it was rumoured that he could well be making a move back to the Northeast with the Black Cats,
according to the Daily Mail. The only reason Cana left England was because he had the chance to play Champions League football with Galatasaray – an offer Cana felt was too good to turn down at the time. But Cana still looks back at his time in England with pride. And he was also held in high regard by the Sunderland fans.
The hope is that Cana will be ready to return and get a full preseason under his belt at the start of next season. At the end of Euro 2016,
he told Tirana Times: “I decided this summer to reject all the proposals I received to be able to come back fit and I hope to be ready for new achievements and projects. I just turned 33 and after 14 years at the highest levels, I needed some time to recover from injuries.”
One viable destination could well be Sunderland. Currently the Black Cats are stranded at the bottom of the Premier League eight points adrift of safety.
Champions League insights site Betfair who also cover the Premier League extensively have spoken at large about Sunderland’s chances of survival recently.
Journalist Evan Bartlett wrote that “As much as he maintains that his side are in with a chance of survival, David Moyes has been cutting an increasingly unpersuasive figure.” Many believe that Sunderland have lacked strong personalities and leaders on and off the pitch this season. If they are to bounce straight back up next season, someone of the ilk of Lorik Cana would undoubtedly help Sunderland regain their Premier League status if they are to get relegated.
Moyes has been quite vocal that even if Sunderland do get relegated that the job at the Sunderland is a long term project and he doesn’t expect to be sacked. Thus, bringing someone in like Cana on a free transfer, who has a ton of experience, knows the English game and can be a catalyst to galvanize the Black Cats for a promotion push seems a logical addition upon relegation. Although, this will obviously hinge on whether the former Albania international has fully recovered from the injuries that have forced him to take a break from the game.
