Sunderland have been touted as admirers of Real Madrid talent Brahim Diaz

Sunderland and Aston Villa have both been credited with an interest in Real Madrid talent Brahim Diaz amid speculative claims that a pair of £52 million bids have been submitted.

The 26-year-old has made global headlines in recent days following a costly penalty miss in the dying seconds of Sunday’s African Cup of Nations final. After it was adjudged that Diaz had been fouled in the box, the Moroccan attacker had to wait an unusually long time to take his spot kick due to a walk-off protest from opposition Senegal, and when he did eventually step up, his timid panenka was easily saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Diaz has since apologised for the incident, stating: "I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else. Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologise from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily, but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me. I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people."

But his painful error in the final was a rare misstep in an otherwise stellar tournament for the Real Madrid star, who scored five goals in seven matches - and off the back of his performances at international level in recent weeks, Spanish outlet Fichajes claim that he is garnering transfer attention from the Premier League.

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What has been said about Sunderland’s apparent transfer interest in Brahim Diaz?

In a fresh report from the continental publication, it is claimed that his current employers have received two offers of around £52 million for Diaz from Sunderland and Aston Villa. It is suggested that given the size of the fee and the player’s relative lack of game time so far this season, Madrid could be tempted to accept either bid, with view to reinvesting the money in other areas of the pitch.

Fichajes go on to state that Villa “see Brahim Diaz as an ideal candidate to bolster their attack with talent and versatility”, while Sunderland “want to make him one of the key figures in their sporting project”. For their part, Madrid will supposedly make a decision on his future over the “coming weeks”.

Diaz, who predominantly operates as a right winger, is under contract in the Spanish capital until the summer of 2027, and has managed just 484 minutes of club football so far this term, spread across 18 outings in La Liga and the Champions League. He has scored one goal, assisting two more.

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