Sunderland are heavily linked with Marseille winger Igor Paixão, who would be an exciting and important addition to the Black Cats squad.
Sunderland have made an exciting approach to sign Marseille winger Igor Paixão within the summer transfer window, and the Brazilian's addition would be a monumental benefit for Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris.
Recently, reports have emerged that Sunderland have made a bid to Marseille for Paixão, with a purported £30m package of £25.7m plus £4.3m in bonuses placed on the negotiating table, according to journalist Matteo Moretto on X.
Last season, Paixão notched 18 combined goal contributions in 42 outings in all competitions during his debut campaign for the French giants, whose financial hardship has meant that several of their marquee talents will be sold this summer.
Clearly, Sunderland have viewed this as an opportunity to capitalise and sign the 26-year-old winger, with the Black Cats' longstanding pursuit of Sporting CP winger Geny Catamo failing to materialise despite weeks of negotiations.
Although the Black Cats are well-stocked with wingers, especially those who prefer to play on the left side of attack, there is a glaring issue in the Sunderland squad that must be addressed within the window, and Paixão could be an answer.
Igor Paixao before Olympique de Marseille v RC Strasbourg (REUTERS) Sunderland Issues Signing Of Marseille Winger Igor Paixão Would Solve
For Le Bris, a consistent issue with his wide attackers proves to be their collective lack of attacking output and impetus, with the latter factor glaring in the 2-1 defeat at Ipswich Town in the 26/27 Premier League opener on Saturday.
During Sunderland's defeat to Ipswich, the lack of creativity and attacking dynamism from the left-wing position was part of the reason why Le Bris' side failed to impose themselves from a goalscoring sense at Portman Road.
Le Bris gave Nilson Angulo the nod over Chemsdine Talbi at left-wing for Sunderland, with the substitute coming in the 58th minute between the two, but neither attacker managed to create any chances for the fellow red-and-white forwards.
Despite Angulo netting a stunning free-kick to equalise, both he and Talbi appeared tentative in their attack, and Paixão would provide some much-needed impetus on goal in this position for Sunderland.
Paixão, who is also comfortable operating as a right-winger despite being right-footed, scored six goals and assisted five in 30 Ligue 1 outings for Marseille last season, a marked improvement on the combined total of Talbi and Angulo in 25/26.
| 25/26 Stats (in all comps.) | Igor Paixão for Marseille | Chemsdine Talbi for Sunderland | Nilson Angulo for Sunderland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 42 | 30 | 9 |
| Goals | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Assists | 6 | 1 | 0 |
Currently, Le Bris has Talbi, Angulo, Romaine Mundle, and the injured Simon Adingra as options for the left flank, but the former Feyenoord star would be a substantial upgrade on the Sunderland quarter in terms of proven goal contributions, experience, and ability.
Also, given that the 26-year-old has proven at the elite level of European football with four goals and an assist in eight Champions League outings last season, the Brazilian would be poised to make an imperative and instant improvement on Sunderland's wide attacking output.
With Angulo and Talbi needing time to develop as 'project players', Paixão is ready to make an immediate impact for Sunderland and infuse much-needed goalscoring prowess and production on either wing for Le Bris.
Amid the Paixão links, Sunderland have made a loan offer to Manchester City for Jack Grealish, and the thought of lining up alongside Brian Brobbey, Enzo Le Fee, Granit Xhaka and the English ace would be extremely difficult for the Marseille man to miss out on.
