Sunderland may have been handed a boost in their bid to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on loan from Crystal Palace this summer.
Sunderland were linked with a loan move for Crystal Palace teenager Jesurun Rak-Sakyi last summer, and the Black Cats have now been linked once again.
Rak-Sakyi, 21, was kept at Crystal Palace last season where he featured six times in the Premier League, failing to score or assist a goal.
During the 2022/23 season on loan at Charlton Athletic, Englishman Rak-Sakyi featured 43 times in League One, scoring 15 goals and assisting eight more.
Sunderland along with the likes of Hull City, QPR, and Sheffield United have been linked alongside Rak-Sakyi this summer, and he’s said to have interest from 15 Championship clubs as things stand.
Southampton were recently reported to be interested in a permanent deal for the Palace man, but the Eagles would rather send him out on loan to a Championship club.
Now, there’s fresh hope that Crystal Palace will indeed send Rak-Sakyi to a second tier side this summer.
Southampton have bid rejected for Sunderland target Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
It’s now reported on Sky Sports that Southampton have seen a loan-to-buy offer for Rak-Sakyi knocked back by Crystal Palace.
The same report reiterates Palace’s stance; that they’d rather send Rak-Sakyi out on loan to a Championship club this summer, and then see him return to Selhurst Park next summer.
Southampton earned promotion to the Premier League after beating Leeds United in the Championship play-off final last season.
Kristjaan Speakman and Sunderland need to strike now, but one thing is holding them back
It seems clear that Sunderland have an interest in Rak-Sakyi, and that a Championship loan move is his most likely outcome this summer.
And whilst Sunderland remains a well-known and attractive place for younger players to go and ply their trade, the club’s slow start to the summer may be a hindrance to them.
Sunderland not having much hopes or expectations for next season, as things stand anyway, may give Palace and Rak-Sakyi reason to look elsewhere.
Mainly, it’s their lack of strikers and lack of Championship experience in the first-team squad, despite Alan Browne’s arrival, and the arrival of a new manager which is making Sunderland look like an unknown quantity going into next season.
But if Kristjaan Speakman and Sunderland can move for Rak-Sakyi now and get ahead of the chasing pack, then it could become a very shrewd loan capture for Sunderland and Regis Le Bris.