Sunderland Set For Transfer Battle With Newcastle For Highly Rated AS Monaco Defender

Reports from ChronicleLive suggest one of Sunderland's early transfer targets for the Summer is 24-year-old defender Wilfried Singo. The Ivorian defender is currently playing for Monaco in Ligue 1, playing 27 times this season as the French side finished third.

Sunderland are currently heavy favourites to suffer relegation next season, therefore will be looking to overhaul their squad with first division talent in the transfer window. Singo has an average rating of 7.0 according to Whoscored, ranking him eighth amongst defenders in France making him a very attractive signing.

The AS Monaco defender has also attracted interest from Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle. The Magpies are in the market for a new central defender in an attempt to progress their ambitions of being a title challenger. Newcastle on paper is a much more attractive venture however, there is a chance Singo is not Eddie Howe's main target.

Sunderland have shown strong connections with the French in recent times. Signing many young French players due to the contacts of owner Kyril Louis Dreyfus, as well as the prospect of working under Frenchman Regis Le Bris.

Sunderland's target is valued at €25 million according to Transfermarkt. This would be quite an expensive signing for the Black Cats, however, it could be very much worth the money if he is to translate his talent from over in Ligue 1 to the Premier League.

Bringing in players of Singo's stature could be the difference in Sunderland staying up and going back down to the Championship. If Newcastle are a serious contender though it could be difficult to tempt the player away from the prospect of playing Champions League football. Especially considering that Singo would be playing in the UCL if he was to stay at Monaco.

Regardless of the outcome of this rumour, being linked with a talent like Singo shows ambition from Sunderland's ownership and should fill Mackems with confidence for the upcoming window.

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