Sunderland have completed the £25.7m signing of French full-back Dayann Methalie from Toulouse days after the defender failed his medical with the Black Cats.
Sunderland have finally officially confirmed the signing of full-back Dayann Methalie from Toulouse after several weeks of transfer pursuit.
Highly-rated left-back Methalie has penned a five-year contract at the Stadium of Light, with the club shelling out a £25.7m fee for the French youth international’s signature, who becomes the second most-expensive signing in Sunderland’s history.
Earlier in the week, after the Sunderland faithful were waiting on the announcement, bombshell reports surfaced that Methalie failed his medical with the Black Cats due to a reported back issue.
Thankfully, Toulouse and Sunderland have managed to come to an agreement after Methalie was sent back to France for further tests, with the two clubs cheekily announcing the move together on social media platform X before releasing their own respective pieces of content on the transfer.
Methalie will don the number six jersey for Sunderland, but due to his injury, it remains to be seen when the 20-year-old talent will make his debut for the Black Cats as Regis Le Bris’ side prepare to take on Ipswich Town this afternoon.
After penning his long-term deal at the Stadium of Light, 6’2” defender Methalie explained why it was an “easy decision” to join Sunderland, following interest from their arch-rivals Newcastle United and Serie A giants Roma this year.
Methalie told Sunderland’s media: “I’m really excited to be here and can’t wait to pull on a Sunderland shirt for the first time.
“This is a brilliant time to join the Club. I followed Sunderland’s progress last season, and it was incredible to see the team finish seventh and qualify for the Europa League.
“When I heard about the opportunity to come here, it was an easy decision. I’m really excited to play in the Premier League and Europa League and to experience that with the Sunderland fans.
“I know how ambitious the Club is, and I want to help the team continue to progress and give the supporters plenty to be proud of.”
Florent Ghisolfi Explains Why Sunderland Wanted Dayann Methalie
Before the move materialised, French Football expert Baptiste Reynaud exclusively told SunderlandRoundtable how much of an exciting talent Sunderland's new boy Methalie is, and that is clear after such a substantial investment in a player with just one senior season of football under his belt.
Methalie is an excellent signing for Sunderland, and will help to evolve Le Bris’ side from an attacking sense given his physical profile and ability to impact in the final third as a wing-back.
Sunderland have been chasing Methalie for several weeks within the summer transfer window, and thus Black Cats Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi was understandably delighted to bring a player “who has already shown a lot of quality and potential” to Wearside.
Ghisolfi explained: "We are delighted to welcome Dayann to Sunderland AFC.
“He is a player we have appreciated and followed for a long time, and we believe his qualities are very well suited to Sunderland, both in terms of our footballing identity and the personality we want within the group.
“Despite his young age, Dayann has already shown a lot of quality and potential, and his performances over the past year have naturally attracted interest from several clubs.
"Throughout the process, however, he showed a very strong feeling and desire to join Sunderland, which was important to us.
“He is still at an important stage of his development, so our responsibility now is to help him settle quickly, provide the best possible environment around him and allow him to continue progressing and expressing his qualities.”
Sunderland take on Ipswich Town this afternoon (Saturday, August 22), giving Methalie a first-hand view of the quality in his new team’s dressing room as the Black Cats’ 2026/27 Premier League campaign gets underway.
