Sunderland Interest In Serie A Left-back Emerges Amid Stalled Dayann Methalie Pursuit

With the summer transfer window just over three weeks away from slamming shut on September 1, Sunderland are reportedly showing an interest in signing Sassuolo left-back Josh Doig amid their stalled pursuit of Toulouse full-back Dayann Methalie.

According to the Daily Record, Sunderland have “registered an interest” in the Scottish international defender following his impressive season for the Serie A side, during which he made 31 appearances and scored once in all competitions.

Hibernian youth product Doig has featured in Italy for the last four seasons, with his 2024/25 campaign coming in the second tier following Sassuolu's relegation, but remained part of the squad who brought the club back to Serie A the following season.

However, the Black Cats are said to be not the only interested suitor in the Scotsman, with French giants Marseille and Greek side Olympiakos also interested in the 24-year-old talent, who joined Sassuolo from fellow Italian top flight side Hellas Verona for £5m in the summer of 2024.

Sunderland’s reported interest in Doig comes as the Black Cats’ pursuit of 20-year-old Toulouse defender Methalie appears to have stalled amid negotiations over the transfer fee between the two clubs.

The Ligue 1 outfit are seemingly holding out for a €30m/£25.7m fee for the French youth international, who was not present in Toulouse's squad on Saturday afternoon for their pre-season friendly against Elche due to a reported minor injury issue amid his heavy links to Sunderland.

In terms of the differences between Doig and Methalie, the two left-sided full-backs possess different profiles, with the Sassuolo star being more defensively-minded, where as the French youngster appears to be more of a modern full-back having enjoyed his breakout season at Toulouse last season in a wing-back role.

Given that Doig's estimated transfer market value, according to FotMob, is in the region of £4.6m, with Toulouse setting an asking price for Methalie north of £25m, this suggests that the French starlet has a higher technical ceiling than his Sunderland-linked Scottish counterpart.

His exciting nature was underlined by French football expert Baptiste Reynaud, who exclusively explained to SunderlandRoundtable why Sunderland transfer target Methalie is such a "talented" prospect, which has seen the likes of AC Milan and Juventus also reportedly show an interest in the 20-year-old recently.

Whether Sunderland sign Doig, Methalie, or another left-back remains to be seen, but given these links, it is evident that the Stadium of Light transfer team are desperate to add another full-back to Regis Le Bris' ranks in the coming days of the summer transfer window.