With the transfer deadline looming, Sunderland sporting director Florent Ghisolfi and head coach Régis Le Bris are accelerating their late-window business to reinforce the squad following a hard-fought 1–0 Premier League victory over Fulham.
Here’s a breakdown of the main targets currently linked to the Stadium of Light, evaluating the state of play, strategic fit, and financial reality of each target.
Incomings
According to wor Keith (Downie), Sunderland could potentially make up to three deadline day signings
as the club looks to add depth to some key areas ahead of arguably the greatest (and most difficult) campaign in our history.
So who could we be welcoming to the Stadium of Light today?
Kevin Danso
The 36-cap Austria international looks set to join Le Bris’ side as depth at centre-back. With current manager Roberto De Zerbi publicly announcing that the defender is free to leave the North London side, all signs look positive.
Comfortable across the defence, Danso brings strong aerial dominance and aggressive front-foot defending, providing necessary rotation and competition to the Sunderland defence. And with an agreement in principle reportedly in place, it is the most likely deal to be completed come the deadline.
Igor Paixão
In what seemed like a dead cert to sign on the dotted line last week now looks like it’s unlikely to come off. Marseille’s 26-year-old Brazilian is now reported to be staying in France following news that Marseille are unable to register any new players, therefore preventing them from getting a replacement in the door.
Unfortunately, Paixão could have been an excellent addition to the Black Cats’ frontline, but a mix of third-party agency intervention and financial issues on Marseille’s end seem to have caused a few bottlenecks in the deal being completed despite reports of personal terms being agreed.
Geny Catamo
A Roker Report favourite, and perhaps are longest saga of the transfer window is Mozambique international, Geny Catamo.
Catamo is an out-and-out right winger, a position we’ve been crying out for and looks set to be the full package and his performances so far this season show just why Sporting Lisbon don’t want to let him go easily. If Catamo was to join Sunderland I can almost guarantee he sets a new record transfer in the process.
Malick Fofana
The young Belgian first got reported with Sunderland during the prolonged Igor Paixão discussions and is another talented winger playing for a cash-strapped French side, this time Lyon.
Fofana would definitely fall into the category of “project” or “prospect” as opposed to a finished article and would join Nilson Angulo and Chemsdine Talbi (and Romaine Mundle) on the left wing.
Matias Soulé
All talk for Soulé seemed to be fronted at the earlier stages of the transfer window, with more recent discussions around his future sending him to Fulham or to the darker part of the North-East.
That being said, he’s a player Ghisolfi knows from his time in the Italian capital, and a move could still be in the works as Sunderland are often operating in the shadows until the last minute when news breaks.
Jack Grealish
The mercurial winger had links to Sunderland a few weeks ago, which, after exciting the fan base, seem to have died right off, and now a return to Everton looks to be his most likely destination.
Outgoings
There are still some expected outgoings on Wearside, with the recruitment team also looking to offload unwanted players (looking at you Abdoullah Ba) and getting important loans for players.
Jocelin Ta Bi
The young Ivorian looks set to move on a temporary departure to recently relegated Burnley, a move in which he may have leaked on his social media over the weekend.
Le Bris said himself that Ta Bi could depart on loan in search of regular minutes to aid his development. Some sections of the fan base may find his departure… Odd, given the lack of true depth at right wing, but there’s a plan in play and all the cooks in the kitchen have earned our trust to let them make these decisions.
Brian Brobbey
Reports suggest that Champions League side Como have expressed late interest in the Sunderland frontman.
The Dutchman has attracted interest from multiple European clubs following his performances in the Premier League last season, followed up by further glowing performances at this summer’s World Cup.
However, no concrete offers have been received for the Dutchman and any potential deals would require a rather substantial fee due to both his importance to the squad and the late nature of any potential deal.
Simon Adingra
The Ivorian looks set for another move away from Sunderland, whilst speculation is up in the air about the structure of the upcoming deal – it seems Ajax is his most likely destination.
With Ajax looking to add options to their frontline, a deal for Adingra could help unlock that last key detail to help Ghisolfi and co get some key additions over the line.
Abdoullah Ba
The last “straggler” from what feels like a bygone age at Sunderland. Ba looked set to leave earlier in the window with a permanent move to Peterborough all lined up, before the player himself squashed it on social media.
Now reports suggest that he may join former team-mate Ahmed Abdullahi over in Turkey in search of regular first-team football.
Chemsdine Talbi
Young Chems was linked with a Bundesliga move in the wake of Yan Diomande’s blockbuster move to Real Madrid, with RB Leipzig fancied to sign him before reports cooled off.
With rumours of left wingers coming in and a reduced role thus far (albeit early in the season), does this suggest that Talbi could be headed for the exit? I, for one, hope he stays as he’s got bags of potential and is perhaps our best future prospect on the left.
The Rest
Other peripheral figures in the Sunderland squad could see a mix of permanent and temporary departures sanctioned. These deals have been coming thick and fast and out of the blue, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of Alan Browne and Aji Alese, to name but a few, remained on Wearside by Wednesday.
