Sunderland 'want' Hungarian striker, according to reports in Belgium

Have Sunderland identified the young striker they want on a permanent deal?

Sunderland have been credited with an interest in KRC Genk striker Andras Nemeth by the Belgian press.

Het Belang van Limburg, an established Dutch language newspaper in Belgium, claims Sunderland ‘want’ the striker, although no offer has yet been tabled.

The South African-born striker is just 20-years-old and has already been capped internationally – by Hungary, which the country of his father’s birth.

He made his debut in a friendly against Luxembourg, scoring in November in a 2-2 draw, although a knee injury saw him have to return to Genk shortly afterwards.

Standing 6’2”, Nemeth certainly fits the bill in terms the type of striker Sunderland are looking for to replace Ellis Simms, who was recalled by Everton last month. Curiously, Nemeth shares an agent with Simms too, and is in the last six months of his current deal with the Jupiler Pro League side.

Despite his international breakthrough, Nemeth is very much a raw and emerging striker, so that would also fit the profile outlined by Tony Mowbray earlier this month.

"It might be another loan but there also some other discussions around a young striker on a permanent basis,” Mowbray has said.

On another occasion he also explained: “It has to fit the criteria of what we need.

“If we need an out-and-out number nine then that's what we need and we'll be looking really hard, but the net has to go a lot further than just the Premier League.”

"It's pretty unlikely that we'll go and splash millions and millions on a big name centre-forward,” he has also said. “I think we need a young guy, like Ellis Simms, who can come in and compete and know that he's learning off Ross.”

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So, in terms of all that, Nemeth would appear to tick an awful lot of boxes.

However, one caution here is that it’s hard to know where these rumours start. A regional newspaper in Belgium is likely to be well-connected with their club, but it’s also worth noting there have been social media rumours about Nemeth from Sunderland social media for a couple of days.

Has the newspaper simply picked up on those and made it into a story or are they getting information from Genk? It’s not easy to say but it’s an interesting link that seems to satisfy a lot of the criteria that the club have set out. 

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