Sunderland are in the market for a new centre-forward this summer but have lost one of their attacking targets to another Championship club.
The Black Cats are in desperate need of a new striker and have been linked with a whole host of names already in this transfer window, most notably SM Caen frontman Alexandre Mendy who recently revealed that he was on his way to the Stadium of Light and was due to for a medical with the Wearside outfit despite neither club agreeing a fee.
It was reported that Sunderland submitted a bid of £840,000 in an attempt to get a deal over the line but the second-tier French side want a much higher figure of around £4.2 million which has caused negotiations between the two parties to go stale.
Since Regis Le Bris was named as Michael Beale’s successor in the dugout late in June, the club have brought in just two players. Republic of Ireland international Alan Browne was signed following his exit from Preston North End while Ian Poveda joined the Black Cats under the same circumstances.
So far, no frontman has been acquired and it looks as though one target will need to be scrapped from the club’s transfer list as Swansea City have just announced the signing of free-agent Zan Vipotnik on a four-year contract subject to visa approval and international clearance.
A report was released last week, via Roker Report, that Sunderland were eyeing a move for the 22-year-old after he was released from his contract with Ligue 2 side Bordeaux after the French club filed for bankruptcy and lost their professional license in the most unfortunate circumstances for everyone involved. Nevertheless, it looks as though Vipotnik is heading to Wales instead, although he will compete in the same division as Le Bris’ men.
Writer’s View
Despite the club’s off-field issues, Vipotnik still had a solid season, bagging 10 goals and recording four assists in 37 league appearances for Bordeaux. Furthermore, he has proven to be quite prolific based on his time in Slovenia where he scored 20 times in 30 games during the 2022/23 campaign.
The number ‘9’ fits the bill of what Sunderland have been looking for under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus which is to sign young players with high ceilings that are good enough to help the club achieve a promotion push. Sadly, his talents are set to be utilised at Swansea instead.
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