Sunderland duo linked with loan moves as French club land possible striker replacement
The latest transfer talk from Sunderland as the summer transfer window enters its final days.
Sunderland may have been handed a boost in their attempts to secure the signing of Caen star Alexandre Mendy after the French club completed the signing of an international striker.
The Black Cats are believed to have been alerted to Mendy’s goalscoring ability after he found the net 23 times in 39 appearances in all competitions last season. Negotiations over a possible deal have been ongoing for over a month now but Sunderland have become frustrated in their attempts to secure an agreement and are now believed to have turned their attention towards a possible move for Leicester City’s Tom Cannon. However, Mendy has continued to stress he is still eager to move to the Stadium of Light and believes a move to Sunderland is ‘the best solution’ for all parties.
Speaking over the weekend, the Black Cats target revealed he was still keen on a move to Wearside, telling SportaCaen.fr: “My will has not changed, Sunderland has not withdrawn. Sunderland is always ready to welcome me and I am always ready to join Sunderland. I would like us to sit down around a table and find the best solution. The best solution for everyone is for me to go to Sunderland.”
His chances of securing a move ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline may well have improved after Caen confirmed the signing of Kalifa Coulibaly on a one-year deal as the 31-times capped Mali international joins former Black Cats star Yann M’Vila at the Ligue 2 club.
Sunderland coach reveals winger challenge
Sunderland Under-21 coach Graeme Murty has revealed the Black Cats coaching staff are hoping to support winger Jewison Bennette and hopes the Costa Rica international ‘does what he needs to do’ ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.
Bennette was named in the Black Cats Under-21s side that claimed a 3-2 win over Middlesbrough on Monday night and seized an opportunity to catch the eye by scoring twice against the Teessiders. However, Bennette has not featured in any of Regis Le Bris’ matchday squads in Sunderland’s three Championship fixtures so far this season and could leave the Stadium of Light on loan before Friday’s 11pm deadline.
As reported by James Copley, Murty told The Echo: “I hope Jewi does what he needs to do because I've got a really, really good relationship with him. I think, as you see, it's really positive and he's a really great person to be around. But football's really, really, really quite fickle. So we need to understand individual players need different things. They have a different journey. So our challenge all the way through our programme, all the way into the first team, is to make sure we support that individual journey as well as we possibly can.”
Bennette is not the only Black Cats player being linked with a loan move in the final days of the transfer window after Le Parisian reported defender Timothee Pembele is in talks over a possible loan to Le Havre.