Sunderland will go against Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers as they pursue Australian striker Lyndon Dykes, as reported by the Mail Online.
Dykes is currently at Livingston in the SPFL, where he has impressed following a move from Queen of the South. The 24-year-old has previously played Down Under for Gold Coast City FC and Surfers Paradise Apollo SC amongst others. However, with 12 goals in 33 outings for Livi, the 6ft 2in target man is now attracting some serious attention from across the UK.
Not only are Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are interested, but they are joined by no fewer than six Championship sides: Stoke City, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Wigan Athletic, Blackburn and Barnsley, All are said to have made tentative enquiries for the striker, who will likely cost upwards of £2m.
That could rule out Sunderland, who face the damaging prospect of yet another season in the third-tier after both Jack Ross and Phil Parkinson struggled to keep them in the top six of League One.
The Black Cats have struggled to replace Josh Maja, with none of Will Grigg, Charlie Wyke or Kyle Lafferty having scored more than six goals this season. With Grigg weighing in at £4m and Wyke at £1m, Stewart Donald has sanctioned spending and got no real tangible return.
Our View
Whilst we’re sure Sunderland fans would like to think they would be in with a shout here, the list of other names hunting the player surely all-but rules them out before any move is of the ground.
The sad fact is that without parachute payments and with the recent crisis, they’re not going to be in a position to spend the sort of money the likes of Celtic or Rangers can, with Millwall and Barnsley even more likely to attract the player than the Wearsiders.
If Dykes wants to better his career, is he likely to choose 30,000 fans watching Rochdale and Shrewsbury in action, or far fewer coming up against Forest, Stoke and Derby County? Sadly, without major spending power, Sunderland don’t have a lot to offer prospective players right now.
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