Sunderland and Newcastle United are now battling it out to sign an impressive midfield star, who has his sights set on a Premier League move this summer.
It was the Black Cats who got the better of the Tyne-Wear derby last season. The newly-promoted side came bursting back into the top flight with more ambition than ever and managed to book themselves a European tour as a result.
Better than Diarra: Sunderland open talks to seal potential record transfer
Sunderland are looking to add first-class quality to their midfield during the summer transfer window.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were forced to settle for a mid-table place and will be without European football altogether next season. It’s already opened the exit door for Anthony Gordon and the likes of Sandro Tonali could still follow suit. It’s a long summer ahead for those at St James’ Park.
The two clubs endured such contrasting campaigns that they’re now in similar transfer conversations. Sunderland are looking to be ambitious yet again, and can offer Europa League football this time around, while Newcastle are trying to bridge that gap all over again.
The good news for both is that the Premier League very much remains the place to be, so much so that one player is rejecting billionaire offers in favour of a move to England.
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Midfield star ready to pick between Sunderland and Newcastle
After missing out on Champions League football, Khephren Thuram could be on his way out of Juventus, but not just to any team. The Frenchman has his sights set on English football.
According to Tutto Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Thuram is rejecting offers from Saudi Arabia because he prefers a move to the Premier League, with Sunderland and Newcastle among the clubs interested.
The Black Cats have already made contact with Juventus to discover their €40m (£35m) asking price and have been handed a major boost by Thuram’s own stance.
Whether they turn that contact into an offer and break their transfer record to sign the French midfielder is now the big question. There should certainly be a temptation to get one over on Newcastle.
|
Rank |
Player |
Fee |
Signed from |
Year |
|
1 |
Habib Diarra |
£27m |
Strasbourg |
2025 |
|
2 |
Simon Adingra |
£21m |
Brighton |
2025 |
|
3 |
Enzo Le Fee |
£19.3m |
AS Roma |
2025 |
|
4 |
Chemsdine Talbi |
£18m |
Club Brugge |
2025 |
|
5 |
Brian Brobbey |
£17.3m |
Ajax |
2025 |
It’s not often that a player rejects a move to Saudi Arabia these days, but Thuram is reportedly in that small minority – making his priorities clear this summer.
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