Sunderland weighing up transfer move for €8m-rated striker | OneFootball

Sunderland are interested in signing Rennes’ Matthis Abline, although they do face competition to land the striker.

Who is Matthis Abline?

The 20-year-old is a name that many fans won’t know, as he has spent his short career in France so far. After coming through the ranks at Rennes, Abline has played 25 times for the club since making his debut in 2021.

The youngster has also had a few loan spells, previously with Le Havre before spending the second half of the previous campaign with Auxerre, although he couldn’t prevent the side suffering relegation to Ligue 2.

Now back at Rennes, Abline faces an uncertain future, and French media outlet Le Parisien has claimed that the France U21 international could be on the move this summer.

They state that Reims are very keen on the player, whilst Lorient and Strasbourg are keeping tabs on Abline, along with the Black Cats. The update indicated Rennes would want around €8m for the player, which would obviously be a significant outlay for Sunderland. However, it is claimed that he is leaning towards staying in France at the moment.

Bringing in attacking options was always a priority for Sunderland this summer as Tony Mowbray looks to build a squad that can push for a top six finish once again next season.

The Wearside outfit announced the arrival of Luis Semedo from Benfica over the weekend.

Sunderland summer transfer plans

It’s no secret that Sunderland are targeting exciting young players in the transfer window. It’s been their strategy for a while under the current owner, and you have to say that it’s an approach that is working, and Abline certainly fits the profile of what the club are looking for.

Even though he only managed two goals in the league for Auxerre, it was a difficult time for all connected to the club as they went down, so it would be harsh to judge him entirely on that. The fact he has been involved for Rennes in the past, and represented France at various youth levels, shows that he is a very talented player.

Ross Stewart’s injury was a massive blow last season, and with Joe Gelhardt returning to Leeds, Sunderland are going to need more strikers through the door even after Semedo. This looks like it will be a hard deal to pull off, but it will be interesting to see what happens.