Sunderland are set to sign Toulouse full-back Dayann Methalie in the coming days, having beaten their bitter rivals Newcastle United to his signature.
Sunderland are poised to finally secure the signature of Toulouse full-back Dayann Methalie in the coming days, and deal a heavy transfer blow to their fierce North East rivals Newcastle United in the process.
After several weeks of transfer negotiations, Sunderland have agreed a £25.7m deal with Toulouse for Methalie, with the French youth international due on Wearside next week for his medical ahead of penning a five-year deal at the Stadium of Light.
With the 20-year-old poised to complete the formalities of his move to the Black Cats, the Sunderland Echo have reported that Sunderland's arch foes, Newcastle, were heavily interested in signing Methalie this summer amid left-back Lewis Hall's links with a potential move to Manchester United.
Reporter James Copley revealed on X that Newcastle, as well as Serie A giants Roma, both showed "serious interest" in the highly-rated young defender over the course of the summer transfer window, but Sunderland was deemed the most attractive option by Methalie.
Why Dayann Methalie Chose Sunderland Over Newcastle United
Furthermore, the report adds that Methalie was convinced that Sunderland was the ideal next step for his footballing development as a result of the proven pathway for exciting players in the opening years of their career, with the Stadium of Light project under the current ownership sold on providing a platform for Europe's finest young stars.
In addition, the allure of Europa League football and the Premier League was another key attraction for Methalie at Sunderland.
As well as this, the club's progression under Regis Le Bris, who remains a highly revered figure in French football following his exploits at Lorient FC and now on Wearside.
Of which, has been noted by French football expert Baptiste Reynaud, who previously told SunderlandRoundtable that Le Bris is an important aspect of Methalie's move to Sunderland.
For Sunderland Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi, the imminent £25.7m arrival of Methalie is a reward for the transfer chief's patience, having struggled at the negotiating table with Toulouse for multiple weeks.
In terms of the Black Cats faithful, the big-money deal is an extremely exciting addition to Le Bris' squad, with Methalie seen as the potential long-term successor to Reinildo Mandava, who was in impressive form during Sunderland's 2-1 win over Rennes on Saturday afternoon's final pre-season friendly.
If all goes well as expected with the medical, Methalie stands to become Sunderland's second most-expensive signing in the club's 147-year history, bettered only by last summer's £30m capture of central midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg.
Perhaps more satisfyingly for supporters, the Methalie capture also has the added bonus of dealing a substantial blow to their bitter rivals in the black-and-white half of the region, rubbing further salt into Geordie wounds after last season's double derby victory.
