Kerry star Paul Galvin took up an offer from Irish soccer legend Niall Quinn to train at Sunderland FC's state-of-the-art facilities last weekend.

The 2009 Footballer of the Year was a notable absentee from the Lixnaw team which enjoyed a surprise Kerry SHC semi-final win over Anthony Daly's Kilmoyley last Sunday and it has since emerged that he was training instead at Sunderland's base as a guest of club chairman Quinn.

Quinn is an avid GAA follower, having played for Dublin in the 1983 All-Ireland minor hurling final before embarking on a professional soccer career with Arsenal.

"Paul was training at the Academy of Light last week. It was arranged through Niall Quinn. Paul is now back in Ireland," Sunderland spokesman Lee Marshall told The Irish Daily Star.

Galvin, who needs an operation to correct a long-standing injury problem, flirted with soccer during his much-publicised suspension in 2008, having attended trials with Cork City, but at 30-years-old, there is virtually no chance of him switching codes at this stage of his sporting career.

Both the Westmeath and Kildare footballers have used Sunderland's training facilities in the past, while Kerry hurling boss John Meyler's son David - who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury - is on the books of the Premier League club. Tweet

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