Sunderland are closing in on their first signing of the January window.
Sunderland only have a matter of days left before the transfer window slams shut, but they now finally look to be picking up the pace in their bid to bolster the squad.
The Black Cats have been forced to play Jenson Seelt out of position in recent games following an injury disaster to their three left-backs.
Niall Huggins will be out for at least the rest of the season, while Dennis Cirkin recently underwent surgery and Aji Alese is back on the sidelines for a month or so.
Sunderland were previously linked with a move for Leicester City’s Luke Thomas, but the defender instead chose to join rivals Middlesbrough.
Recent reports claimed that Michael Beale’s side were now targeting Leo Hjelde, and journalist Mike McGrath has now confirmed that the club have ‘agreed a fee’ for the Leeds United youngster.
He wrote: “Sunderland have agreed a fee with Leeds for Norway U21 defender Leo Hjelde. Deal for 20yr old in place with personal terms to be agreed before a permanent move to the Stadium Of Light.”
Hjelde started his career with Celtic and was dubbed as the ‘next Virgil van Dijk’ during a highly successful loan spell with Ross County.
He then joined Leeds United and spent the second half of last season on loan with Rotherham United, but is yet to be given a proper chance with the Whites.
Former manager Jesse Marsch was really impressed with the Norwegian during his time at Elland Road though.
After Hjelde was an unused substitute in Leeds’ famous 3-0 win over Chelsea last season, Marsch said: “Leo, we think really highly of him, he had a really good match last week against Norwich in the U21 match. I think he will feature in our match against Barnsley on Wednesday and I think he has the potential for a big future with us as well.”
Is Leo Hjelde an exciting signing?
It looks to be a very promising signing for Sunderland, who really need to strengthen their backline after a tough few months.
It is a bit of a surprise that he is set to join on a permanent deal though, given the amount of young defenders we already have among our ranks.
Aji Alese, Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin will all return to compete for the left-back spot eventually, while Jenson Seelt and Nectarios Triantis are already back-up to the current defensive partnership of Luke O’Nien and Dan Ballard.
Leo Hjelde’s versatility will definitely be very useful, but I can’t help but feel it will result in unhappiness for one or two defenders who will struggle to get any first team minutes in the near future.