Sunderland are now not thought to be pursuing striker Alexandre Mendy, despite claims this week they had submitted a fresh bid for him.
It’s been one of the one/off transfer sagas of the summer, and one the Sunderland now appeare to have admitted defeat in, if reports from France are to be believed. French journalist Mohamed Toubache-Ter reports that Regis Le Bris’s side have ‘decided to withdraw’ their interest and have informed his club, Caen.
Originally, it appeared that Sunderland submitted a bid of £840,000 to the second-tier French side, but they wanted a much higher figure, believed to be around £4.2 million, which halted negotiations. This came after the player revealed that he was on his way to the Stadium of Light for a medical with the Wearsiders, despite the two parties not agreeing a fee.
The saga appears to have rumbled on, with Toubache-Ter even suggesting this could be part of a strategy to force Caen’s hand in negotiations. They started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home against Paris FC, the club they finished a single point behind last season. Having missed out on the play-offs for Ligue 1 by a single point, funds from the sale of Mendy could be used to help push towards the top flight, a level they were last at in 2019.
That had led to Mendy being told he could leave for an acceptable offer, but the club recently experienced a change in ownership, and it’s understood they’re keener to hold on to their key asset for the promotion push. All of the uncertainty has ensured Sunderland have ended their pursuit, or at least made their final move to force Caen’s hand.
The 30-year-old Mendy represents Guinea-Bissau at international level and has scored 65 goals in 142 games for Les Vikings. He had a journeyman career in France and has also played for Nice, Guingamp, Brest, Nimes, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux, with a career total of 98 goals from 286 appearances.
Writer’s View
Missing out on Mendy might not be the worst thing for Sunderland. He’s 30, he’s never played outside of France, and he seems keen on forcing a move, which isn’t something that points to a good attitude. Perhaps £840,000 is a half-decent fee, but there’s no resell value and no proven record of scoring goals at a decent level. Ligue 2 is not comparable with the Championship, so this did feel like a big risk.
If Sunderland are trying to force Caen’s hand, the endgame will be really interesting. Are they trying to get them to meet somewhere in the middle of the valuation? Or are they playing hardball, not going above the £840,000. If it’s the latter, then the deal just about makes sense, but if they start moving into seven figures for an unproven player on the wrong side of 30, they’re straying into the sort of territory that saw them relegated into League One in the first place.
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