Ellis Simms is set to join Coventry City on a permanent deal.
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the striker will make a £8 million move to the West Midlands, with his medical tests scheduled for today.
Simms has been the subject of increasing interest since the Premier League season came to a close, having only scored one goal for Everton as he spent most of the second half of the campaign on the bench.
The attacker’s late equaliser against Chelsea received plenty of plaudits, with Sky Sports‘ Karen Carney hailing his finish as ‘unbelievable’, however his success at Goodison Park was short-lived.
The 22-year-old enjoyed a much more impressive spell on loan at Sunderland though, leading to a number of Championship teams chasing his signature.
Sunderland were joined by the likes of Coventry, Middlesbrough and Swansea City hoping to snap up Simms on a permanent deal, however it appears to be the former that have won the race.
Reports earlier in the transfer window had claimed that Simms was valued at up to £4m, however Mark Robins’ side are set to cough up double that to bring the striker in.
The news comes as Coventry’s Viktor Gyokeres nears a move to Sporting Lisbon, which will see the Championship outfit earn around £20 million for his exit.
Coventry City can have Ellis Simms for that crazy price
Sunderland have wanted Ellis Simms back on Wearside since he was recalled from his loan back in January, however it became very obvious that we would be out-priced for the forward in recent weeks.
Many fans were put off by a potential £4m price tag, so it would have been unbelievable if we had chosen to pay the £8m that Coventry are splashing.
The Sky Blues clearly have the money to spend with Gyokeres on his way out, but there will be very few Black Cats fans disappointed that we didn’t meet Everton’s demands to sign Simms.
He was a great player during his short stint at the Stadium of Light, however he certainly isn’t one that is worth that kind of money and the club made a sensible decision in refusing to play such silly games.