Sunderland and Leeds United are two of the teams challenging for promotion from the Championship right now. Leeds are in 1st and Sunderland in 4th, but only three points separate the two.
At one point in December, Sunderland fell to seven points behind Leeds United who were pulling away at the top of the Championship table. But back-to-back league wins for Sunderland and back-to-back draws for Leeds has closed the gap.
Sunderland beat Sheffield United 2-1 on New Year’s Day to kickstart their 2025 with a bang. Then the Black Cats beat Portsmouth in the league before confirming the loan signing of Enzo Le Fee from Roma.
Despite defeat against Stoke City in the FA Cup, Sunderland have a positive outlook for the rest of the 2024/25 season udner Regis Le Bris. But top six rivals Leeds are now being linked with a former Sunderland star, who could yet help the Whites win promotion ahead of the Black Cats.
- READ MORE: Jack Clarke breaks silence on poor Ipswich Town form with veiled nod to Tony Mowbray at Sunderland
Former Sunderland gem Bali Mumba wanted by Leeds United
Bali Mumba, now 23, broke through the youth ranks at Sunderland. Born in South Shields, he made his senior debut for the club back in 2018 by then caretaker boss Robbie Stockdale. But Mumba would leave in 2020 after making just 10 first-team appearances in three seasons.
Mumba was signed by Norwich City. But in another three-year stint he made just nine first-team appearance for the Canaries. He joined Plymouth Argyle for £1million in 2023 and the rest is history.
The 2022/23 League One Young Player of the Season at Plymouth is now wanted by Leeds United. Leeds United News have revealed that Mumba was watched by Leeds scouts over the FA Cup weekend just gone.
How much did Norwich City pay for Bali Mumba?
At the time, Roker Report stated that Norwich City signed Mumba for an initial £350,000, with the fee potentially rising to £750,000. What the final fee for the transfer was remains to be seen.
Now though, Mumba could be about to secure what would be a fairly lucrative move to the top end of the Championship, which will be a bittersweet moment for Sunderland who’d surely wish they’d have kept him now.
Plymouth broke their transfer record in 2023 to sign Mumba in a £1million deal from Norwich. Expect Leeds to have to cough up a lot more than that to sign the impressive Englishman, who remains udner contract until 2027.