Sunderland suffer deadline day blow as transfer 'target' signs for Championship promotion rivals

Sunderland have been handed a deadline day transfer blow, with Championship rivals Burnley confirming the signing of mooted target Marcus Edwards on loan until the end of the season.

The Sporting CP attacker emerged as a shock option for the Black Cats last week, as Kristjaan Speakman looks to bolster Regis Le Bris’ attacking cohort ahead of a promotion push in the coming months. For his part, Edwards has found game time hard to come by in Portugal this season, and has been limited to just 10 appearances across all competitions.

It is within this context that Record reported the 26-year-old was “close to the exit door”, and that Sunderland had taken an interest in him. According to the continental outlet, the Black Cats were “looking at” Edwards, with Championship promotion rivals Burnley also having “approached” the player. Indeed, at the time, it was stated that “both Sunderland and Burnley have sought to understand the conditions for a possible deal for Marcus Edwards, with the first of the two British clubs mentioned being the one that has held the most exploratory talks for the player”.

But it is the Clarets who have ultimately won the race for Edwards, with the forward unveiled at Turf Moor on Monday morning. Speaking about his decision to sign for Burnley, he said: “It feels amazing. Burnley is like a Premier League club. I’m really happy to be here.

“I know Scott [Parker] from my time at Spurs. I know what he’s like. He’s ambitious, he’s driven. We had a good relationship back then so when I knew he wanted me to come that was enough for me. From knowing what he’s like and how he is and the fact that Burnley is such a big club in general. It made sense.

“The main thing now is to get promoted back to the Premier League. I’m coming here to try and get myself into the team. I hope we can make it over the line this season and I hope Burnley fans will enjoy watching me play too.”

Edwards has been on the books at Sporting since 2022, when he signed from fellow Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes. Prior to his move to the Iberian peninsula, he came through the ranks at Tottenham, and enjoyed loan spells with Norwich City and Dutch outfit Excelsior. Opportunities for the Englishman have dwindled in recent months, however, and he has registered just 346 minutes of action across all competitions so far this term - including a 68-minute outing in a Champions League defeat at the hands of Arsenal back in November.

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Alongside Sunderland and Burnley, a number of other English sides had been credited with an interest in Edwards this January, with the likes of Crystal Palace and Everton touted as admirers. While the understanding has been that the Black Cats are in the market for a centre-forward ahead of this evening’s transfer deadline, head coach Regis Le Bris did suggest in a recent press conference that they could also be tempted by the prospect of signing a more versatile attacking talent instead.

He said: "Probably we still need some more vertical threats, players who could run in behind. This could be a striker but also a winger, maybe a versatile player. So this is still very much in our mind, but we will see what comes in these next weeks. But it is not necessarily about a number nine."

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