Championship: Sunderland transfer target spotted watching new team ahead of expected move
The Sunderland transfer target was spotted watching a Championship game ahead of his expected transfer move
Sunderland transfer target Ben Brereton Diaz was pictured at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane this weekend ahead of his expected return to the club.
The Chile international has twice been bought for a fee of £7million, taking his combined value across his career a cool £14million. Sunderland and others were linked with a deal for the Southampton striker, who is keen to play regular football after struggling to nail down a starting spot at St Mary’s.
However, the 25-year-old ace was pictured at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane over the weekend with his move to re-join Chris Wilder expected to go through in the coming days. The attacker spent time with the Blades on loan in the top flight last season and reportedly favoured a move back to the Steel City to be close to his family.
Brereton Diaz scored six Premier League goals for the Blades on loan from Villarreal last season under Chris Wilder but was unable to help them avoid relegation to the Championship. His imminent return to the club represents a boost to Sheffield United given his goal-scoring record in the second tier.
And that deal looks all but certain to go through now after footage emerged of the player at Bramall Lane on Saturday. On social media site X, user @oscarsufc shared a video which looked to show Diaz in the stadium ahead of their league clash with Norwich City.
Ahead of the game, our sister title, The Star, reported that the player would be in attendance with Sheffield United closing on confirmation of the transfer in due course. The Blades are also increasingly confident of concluding a deal for Leicester City striker Tom Cannon, who was recalled from his successful loan at Stoke City earlier this week.
Sheffield United appear to now be in pole position to secure the transfer, having indicated their willingness to pay an up-front fee of around £10million for Cannon. Sunderland are thought to have preferred a deal structured similarly to that which brought Enzo Le Fée to the club, whereby a permanent deal would be triggered in the summer if the Black Cats win promotion to the Premier League.