Sunderland In Transfer Battle With Everton and European Giants For £4.4m Youngster

Sunderland have been credited with interest in highly-rated BK Hacken midfielder Abdoulaye Doumbia ahead of the January transfer window, but face a significant battle to secure his signature with several big European sides circling.

According to reports from AfricaFoot, Sunderland have sent scouts to watch the 19-year-old Ivorian in action for the Swedish top flight outfit, alongside Premier League rivals Everton and Coventry City, as well as several major clubs on the continent.

In addition to Sunderland and their Premier League foes, the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge, Strasbourg, Paris FC, Freiburg, Nice, Lens, and Celtic have been named as suitors interested in Doumbia after his impressive breakout campaign in Swedish football, which has seen his market value rise to a reported £4.4m.

Sunderland have had success shopping in the lesser-known European leagues for young midfield talent of late, namely with the Black Cats bringing Jules Ahoka in from Royal Antwerp for £8.6m in the summer, with 20-year-old Ahoka enjoying an exciting start to his Sunderland career with several impressive outings.

With Doumbia, Sunderland are seemingly looking to replicate that transfer success similarly with the Ivorian starlet, and it is clear to see why the Black Cats are interested in the sought-after midfield prospect.

In January 2026, Doubmia arrived at Hacken from ASEC Mimosas in his native Ivory Coast, and quickly established himself as a key component of the Swedish side's midfield, making 25 appearances in all competitions last season and notching five combined goal contributions in the process with two goals and three assists.

Doumbia predominately operates as a defensive-minded midfielder for Hacken, with his defensive metrics within the Allsvenskan last season ranking him as one of the league's best holding midfielders.

In the 2026 Swedish top flight, Doumbia made 195 defensive contributions, 84 interceptions and 198 recoveries in 25 outings, highlighting how impactful he was in the defensive third for Hacken.

Impressively, however, the 19-year-old also showed consistent qualities in possession, with a 90 percent passing accuracy and 159 line-breaking passes, showcasing that he is far more technically gifted than a player who will simply break up the opposition's play.

With five goal contributions in 25 games, Doubmia has also proven his ability to directly impact Hacken's attack, pointing towards him having similar attributes to Sunderland starlet Ahoka in terms of their abilities to operate as both a defensive number six and a box-crashing number eight.

In his most recent performance for the Swedish club on Saturday, Doumbia completed the most passes (75) of any player on the field as Hacken beat IFK Goteborg 1-0, with the young midfielder controlling the game with a dominant player-of-the-match performance.

Given Doumbia is tied down at Hacken until the summer of 2030, the Swedish side will be able to command a sizeable fee for the promising talent should Sunderland or any of the other several aforementioned suitors come calling in the upcoming January window or next year's summer business period.

However, with the clear lofty potential that Doumbia has and his applicability for the Sunderland recruitment model of attracting and developing Europe's young talent, the 19-year-old Ivorian is one that the Stadium of Light transfer team would be remiss to opt against signing.