Sunderland 2022 'swoop' for U21 international defender fell through after Black Cats trial - report
Sunderland reportedly took Roman Didyk on trial in 2022.
Sunderland came close to signing Ukrainian defender Roman Didyk in 2022, only for the deal to fall through due to an injury, according to reports.
The Black Cats are said to have taken the centre-back on trial two years ago, but pulled out of a transfer when he sustained a complaint. It is not clear as to how long Didyk spent on Wearside, or exactly how close the supposed agreement was to being finalised.
According to TaToTake, the talent - who turned 22 this week - has emerged as a target for Sunderland’s Championship rivals Preston North End in recent weeks. The struggling Lilywhites are also credited with an interest in Didyk’s compatriot, Oleksiy Sych, who operates as a right-back. As things stand, however, financial demands look to have derailed any prospect of a swoop from Paul Heckingbottom’s men. As part of this latest report, Sunderland are directly mentioned as a club who have previously run the rule of Didyk in particular.
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Both Didyk and Sych currently ply their trade for Ukrainian Premier League outfit Rukh Lviv. Indeed, last weekend, the former scored a stoppage time equaliser to seal a late 1-1 draw with Champions League regulars Shakhtar Donetsk. Didyk is also a current Ukraine U21 international, and has amassed three caps for his country so far.
Sunderland have, of course, dipped their toe into the Ukrainian market before. Last summer, the Black Cats completed a deal to sign forward Nazariy Rusyn from Zorya Lugansk. Since then, however, the 26-year-old has struggled to make a sustained impact on the first team picture at the Stadium of Light, and has scored just twice in 29 appearances so far.
This season, Rusyn has been limited to just 64 minutes of Championship football, and is still yet to find the back of the net. His last taste of first team action came in a fleeting cameo at the end of October’s 2-0 win over Derby County.