Cats linked with Helmes swoop

The 27-year-old forward left Bayer Leverkusen for Wolfsburg in January for £4.5million but could be on his way out of the Volkswagen Arena after just a short period. Manager Felix Magath has allowed Helmes to withdraw from training and the Black Cats could make a move to bolster their attacking options, while French club Evian have also been monitoring his situation. Magath told kicker-Sportmagazin: "Patrick Helmes has not been training with our squad on Tuesday, I have allowed him to do so." Helmes has netted 35 goals in 82 Bundesliga matches in his career to date as well as two goals in 13 internationals for Germany since his debut under Joachim Low in 2007.