Willem Geubbels may already have dropped transfer stance hint amid Sunderland links and Kylian Mbappe claim
Sunderland are the latest club to be credited with an interest in the striker.
FC St. Gallen striker Willem Geubbels has emerged as the latest attacking player to be linked with a move to Sunderland before Monday’s transfer deadline.
The 23-year-old has been in prolific form for the Swiss side this season, scoring 10 goals and assisting two more across 24 outings in all competitions. It is within this context that he is said to be attracting interest from across the Championship, with Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers both mentioned as admirers in a report from Foot Mercato.
That same update goes on to state that Sunderland are “preparing a transfer offer” - although the fee attached will presumably have to exceed the £6.7 million bid tabled by Luton, which was soundly rejected by St. Gallen.
In that regard, it would appear that the Europa Conference League side are keen to hang on to their prize asset this month, but as per Foot Mercato, “it remains to be seen how long Saint-Gall can resist the onslaught of interested clubs”.
If nothing else, however, they look to have put themselves in a strong negotiating position by tying the forward down to a new contract late last year. In mid-December, it was confirmed that Geubbels had put pen to paper on a deal that is set to keep him at the club until 2027.
Speaking after the agreement was sealed, St. Gallen sporting director Roger Stilz said: "Willem has developed into a great player with us both on and off the pitch. He works for his teammates, also in defense. He is a strong sprinter, technically good and agile. Thanks to the concrete work of the new coaching team, he has once again improved significantly. It was therefore very important to us to tie him to the club for the long term. We are delighted that Willem has decided to stay with us and extended his contract early."
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As for the player himself, Geubbels rather succinctly told St. Gallen’s in-house media team: “I am not done yet”. Whether that comment reflects his actual willingness to stay in Switzerland for the foreseeable future, or whether he was simply parroting a scripted response, only he will know for certain.
What is overtly clear, however, is that Geubbels is in possession of a considerable amount of ambition. As a teenager, he completed a big money move from Lyon to fellow Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco, and upon his arrival, he went as far as to suggest that he could one day outshine French talisman Kylian Mbappe.
In a 2018 interview, he said: “When you see what he has done here [at Monaco], it makes you want to do beautiful things, to follow in his footsteps. And why not do even better? I’m not putting myself under pressure over this, it will be done right.”
Evidently, things haven’t quite gone to plan for Geubbels since then, and he would go on to sign for St. Gallen on a free transfer in 2023. But as he continues to revive his career in the Swiss top flight, Sunderland’s apparent interest in him makes for an intriguing proposition.
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