Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland AFC set to face blow in Rangers FC transfer race | OneFootball

The Championship duo have seemingly missed out on a move for Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo after submitting enquiries

Championship duo Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland both launched enquiries for Rabbi Matondo, although the Rangers attacker is now set to join an unnamed European club on loan in a potential blow to the two sides.

That's according to a recent update from Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, who reported the latest development via his X account on Wednesday morning.

Interest from Wednesday and Sunderland had not been reported elsewhere, but it's now been revealed that the two clubs are both seemingly poised to miss out on Matondo's services.

Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is known to be keen on utilising the loan market - with Premier League clubs in particular, it must be said - while Sunderland are looking to strengthen their wide-left options amid long-term injury setbacks for both Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson.

Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland set to miss out on Rangers FC's Rabbi Matondo

Not much is known about the interest at this stage, but according to O'Rourke, both the Owls and Sunderland had made enquiries for Matondo.

The 12-cap Welsh international, who emerged from Cardiff City's academy system before representing Stoke City in the Championship, is on the periphery at Rangers this season.

Matondo scored five goals and made three assists from 19 league appearances last season but has struggled for a regular starting berth at Ibrox since joining from Schalke in July 2022. This season, the left-sided winger has started just two league matches and is behind Romanian attacker Ianis Hagi in the pecking order, though he has spent time out with injury.

He now appears set to leave Glasgow but a departure to the Championship feels unlikely, as the 24-year-old has reportedly struck an agreement for a loan deal with an undisclosed European club.

Separate reports have claimed Serie A duo Torino and Lecce are both keen on Matondo, who was linked to both Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City back in the summer.

Rabbi Matondo could have been a good signing for Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland

Matondo certainly would have represented an intriguing capture for either of these two sides.

Admittedly, the Welshman's career goal return is less than convincing for the most part, but his explosive speed and ball-carrying qualities make him a real threat down the left-hand side and he's the type of player who has an eye for the spectacular, too.

At Hillsborough, he would have offered strong competition for Djeidi Gassama on the left. Of the two clubs, Matondo would likely have found a regular starting spot less difficult to come by in the long-run.

In the here and now, he could have been useful for Sunderland to give them cover out wide until the aforementioned duo of Mundle and Watson return from injury, with the former expected back considerably sooner.

It's unlikely Matondo would have been starting over someone like Mundle, who has been in inspired form when fit this term, but he still could have proved to be a useful squad option in Regis Le Bris' promotion hunt, especially considering the Black Cats' well-documented lack of squad depth in attacking areas.