Sunderland eye another French player with midfielder deal reportedly close

Another French youngster is reportedly heading to Sunderland.

Sunderland are reportedly close to adding to their growing contingent of French youngsters by signing midfielder Ateef Konate from Nottingham Forest.

Pierre Ekwah joined Abdoullah Ba and Edouard Michut on Wearside this week and Isaac Lihadji is also expected to complete a move from Lille this month too.

Konate, 21, is also set to join, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

The deal is apparently a loan until the end of the season, although on the face of it that would be a surprise. If Alan Nixon says there is interest then that is very reliable information, although it should be noted that he also reported Pierre Ekwah as a loan deal at first too.

Sunderland’s transfer model is to take players out of other academies and develop them themselves, not develop them for other clubs. There is obviously exceptions to that such as Ellis Simms, Amad Diallo and Joe Gelhardt, but Konate is nowhere near that level yet. It would be a project.

Konate is a product of La Havre, which is where Sunderland signed Ba from, and he can play across the midfield.

He joined Forest in 2020, although he has only played three times for the club, with his only starts coming in the EFL Cup, so he is not close to a breakthrough there. 

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