Sunderland have been linked with a swoop for Sevilla star Ruben Vargas in recent weeks

Sunderland and Leeds United’s hopes of signing Sevilla talent Ruben Vargas this January look to have been scuppered after the player sustained an injury last weekend, according to reports.

The Swiss international has been touted as a transfer target for both newly promoted clubs in recent weeks, as well as Premier League rivals Bournemouth, who are understood to be in the market for a replacement for Antoine Semenyo following his big money move to Manchester City earlier this month.

Late last year, ABC Sevilla reported that Vargas could be available for around £8.7 million, with reports elsewhere claiming that Sunderland, Leeds, and Bournemouth were all in “active talks” over a prospective swoop.

The 27-year-old only signed for Sevilla from Augsburg last January. Since then, he has registered five goals and five assists across 25 appearances, but the majority of his goal contributions have come this term, with three strikes and four assists to his name in just 13 La Liga outings.

Despite his impressive return, however, the understanding is that Sevilla would have been open to selling him this winter in an effort to balance their books, but any such plans look to have dissipated after the Vargas sustained a relatively significant injury a few days ago.

What is the latest on reported Sunderland and Leeds United transfer target Ruben Vargas?

Diario de Sevilla outline the attacker’s situation, once again mentioning Sunderland and Leeds as admirers, before going on to state that a January exit now appears very unlikely. After a stint out of the side due to a hamstring injury, Vargas returned to action in an 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo over the weekend, but suffered a fresh fitness setback when he damaged his “left femoral biceps”, as confirmed by his club. Consequently, it is claimed that Sevilla no longer consider him to be a viable candidate for a sale this month.

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What is the latest on Sunderland’s January transfer plans?

Speaking in a press conference last week, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris suggested that the Black Cats are still some way off wrapping up any kind of incoming transfer this month. He said: “There is nothing at the minute.

“The period is a really interesting one. It’s tough, and even with a number of absentees, the level of the squad remains really consistent, which is really positive. That shows the depth of the squad and the versatility of three or four of our players, which is really useful for game management. If we can improve and reinforce the squad, we will try to do that. But what we have learned will also be important for the next transfer window.

“We are in a good place, which is really positive. We might have been in a different position, in a rushed process where we had to reinforce the squad in this position or that one. That is not the case though. It is a good position, a comfortable one, but we still want to be ambitious. We will not have a massive window, that is really clear, but if it is possible to do something, we will. It is always unpredictable though because of lots of elements can influence the situation. There is the availability of the players, then there is also our way of assessing what we need. It evolves through this period, but we are in a good place.”

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