Sunderland-linked £30m defender completes Ligue 1 move after Kristjaan Speakman transfer interest

Marseille have signed defender Nayef Aguerd from West Ham on a permanent deal, ending speculation over the Morocco international’s future after Sunderland were linked with a move earlier this summer.

The 29-year-old spent last season on loan at Spanish side Real Sociedad and was one of several defensive options monitored by Sunderland as sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head coach Régis Le Bris sought to strengthen their back line ahead of the Premier League campaign.

West Ham signed Aguerd from Rennes for a fee of around £30million in June 2022, with the centre-back making 61 appearances for the Hammers and helping them lift the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023. Despite interest from a number of clubs, including Sunderland and other Premier League sides earlier in the window, Marseille have now completed a permanent deal for the experienced defender as part of their rebuild under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Sunderland have since moved on to other defensive targets, including the completed signing of Lutsharel Geertruida from RB Leipzig, while also holding talks over several other centre-back options before the deadline closed.

In other transfer news, Alan Browne has completed a season-long loan move to Middlesbrough and says the chance to be closer to home and help a “massive club” fight for Premier League promotion was too good to turn down.

The 30-year-old midfielder departs Sunderland after making 23 appearances last season, playing his part as the Black Cats secured promotion back to the top flight. But with opportunities expected to be limited under Régis Le Bris this season.

Browne says the move to Teesside made sense for a number of reasons. Speaking to the club’s media team after signing, Browne admitted his first emotion was relief: “Yeah, probably relief more than anything,” he said when asked for his initial reaction to joining Middlesbrough.

Browne explained why the move felt right for him at this stage of his career: “Well, I think for obvious reasons. It's close to home where I am at the moment. I've got a young family, so that was always going to make the move easy and it's a massive club.

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

“It's a Premier League club if we're being honest and that's what I'm going to try to help get the club back to. They've made an amazing start so far, some good individual players. I had a brief chat with the manager who talked me into it as well.” Browne admitted he has been keeping up with Middlesbrough’s early-season form: “I watch the highlights every weekend, but I didn't get a chance to watch a full game. Hopefully that'll come.”

The Republic of Ireland international, who spent a decade at Preston North End before joining Sunderland last summer, says that experience shaped his entire career: “Oh, it was brilliant. I went from a boy to a man basically. It was life-changing for me at the time and I just grew as a person and a player throughout my years there and gained a lot of experience, which hopefully I can bring to the fort this club.”

Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland’s summer spend is set to hit £167.1m as Kyril Louis-Dreyfus sanctions major deadline-day deals.