Derby bid to re-sign midfielder, Cardiff land winger ahead of Sunderland game, Sheff Wed eye ex-West Brom ace

Sunderland fans are expecting to see plenty of improvements in their third season back in the Championship after the appointment of Régis Le Bris from French side Lorient.

Le Bris has a reputation for finding talent and harnessing their potential as he has proved with the likes of Mattéo Guendouzi and Illan Meslier and it is hoped that he can once again use his connections to land a high calibre of young player at the Stadium of Light.

As Sunderland work towards building a new team for the 2024/25 season, we take a look at the transfer activity involving the rest of the teams in the division as Cardiff sign a new winger and Derby and Sheffield Wednesday both push to strengthen their teams in the window.

Derby County bid to re-sign former midfielder

Paul Warne’s Derby side celebrated promotion back into the second-tier last season and are now hoping to land one of the players that helped them on their journey in Cardiff City midfielder Ebou Adams.

The Gambia international made 17 loan appearances for the Rams last season as they finished second in the table behind Pompey. Warne was impressed with his displays in this period and has submitted an offer to try and sign the player on a permanent basis this summer. Cardiff boss Erol Bulut confirmed the news after his side’s friendly with Kidderminster as Adams was left out of the matchday squad.

Bulut told reporters: “As far as I know we got an offer from Derby County but nothing is finalised, so until that moment, Ebou Adams is still a Cardiff City player. We didn’t want to risk him (against Kidderminster) because we are close (to a deal) but in football you never know. Things may not get done and today we didn’t use him but tomorrow is another day, we never know.”

Adams has been at Cardiff since 2022 but has managed just 11 appearances since arriving from Forest Green Rovers.

Cardiff City complete first summer signing

Cardiff City are expected to confirm the signing of Chris Willock in the coming days after the winger made the decision to leave QPR on a free transfer.

The 26-year-old, who graduated through the Arsenal and Benfica academies, has been a key player at Loftus Road for a number of seasons and was a standout performer for the team as they mounted a great escape after a poor start to the season before the arrival of Marti Cifuentes.

All together, he has made 154 league appearances for the West London side, scoring 22 times and providing 22 assists. He is capable of playing on either wing and could make his debut against Sunderland in a highly-anticipated match on 10 August.

Sheffield Wednesday push to sign former England international

Sheffield Wednesday are determined to continue their upwards trajectory after last season’s great escape and have now set their sights on a move for one-time England international Nathaniel Chalobah following the expiration of his West Brom contract.

The 29-year-old defensive midfielder is a product of the Chelsea academy, who made 10 appearances for Antonio Conte’s title winning team in the 2016/17 campaign.

Since leaving Stamford Bridge he has played for the likes of Watford and Fulham before joining West Brom in 2023. Over the course of 18 months he made 46 appearances for the Baggies, including 33 during last season’s fifth place finish before falling short in the play-offs against Southampton.