Sunderland have reportedly entered the race for Lille winger Alan Virginius as Michael Beale aims to bolster his squad with added quality.
Sunderland recorded their first home win under Michael Beale on New Year’s Day as they comfortably beat Preston North End 2-0 to cement their place in the top six.
The Black Cats are now approaching an important period of their season and it looks as though they’re aiming to invest in their playing squad to bolster their promotion chances.
Beale has already been linked with a number of reinforcements across the field, including Fulham striker Jay Stansfield, who is currently on loan at Birmingham City.
While links to Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland have also emerged.
The Sunderland boss is in a strong position to beat off interest from his former club Rangers to land the 28-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in 20 appearances this term.
However, their interest in attacking players stretches far and wide, which explains why they’ve been linked to Lille winger Alan Virginius.
After seeing a £4.3 million bid rejected for him in the summer, the Black Cats have gone in for a second bite of the cherry.
Sunderland want Alan Virginius in a loan-to-buy deal
According to French outlet Foot Mercato, Sunderland have joined Swiss side Young Boys and Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot in the race to sign Alan Virginius.
The report claims that the France U20 international is ‘unhappy’ at his current club and wants to leave in this window after finding out he isn’t in Lille’s plans.
It is said that Young Boys are the side pushing the most to secure a deal for the Frenchman having submitted a loan with an option to buy for around €4.5 million (£3.9 million) including bonuses.
Despite entering the race in pole position, a deal could be on the cards for Sunderland – if they want it – although they are yet to submit a bid.
If they are serious about signing the winger, who can play on the left or right flank, they may have to act swiftly to get it done.
Who would Virginius replace at Sunderland?
Although Jack Clarke has cemented his place on the left side, the right flank has been a problem position for Sunderland all season long.
Patrick Roberts is yet to score this term and Abdoullah Ba has been labelled as “especially awful” having failed to put in a consistent run of displays.
While Roberts is undoubtedly talented and has shown glimpses of being back to his best under Beale, he could benefit from having better competition down the right, perhaps someone to push him to perform at his highest level.
Ba hasn’t done that thus far, but Virginius – who has been labelled as a “huge talent” by scout Jack Kulig – could potentially provide him with a threat to his place in the side.
According to Kulig, Virginius is a creative player with very good technique on the ball, mobility, acceleration skills, fast direction shifts, short-dribbling and good short-mid through passing ability.
It’s those type of attributes that Sunderland are crying out for to make their right flank just as devastating as their left.