Leeds United have finally confirmed the arrival of Gabriel Gudmundsson, but there were other left-backs on the club’s radar, and one of them has just completed a move to Sunderland.
With Junior Firpo leaving Leeds on a free transfer, Adam Underwood needed to bring in a left-sided defender and has done so with Gudmundsson. He joins Leeds from Lille for £10m, on a four-year deal.
It is the club’s fourth signing of the summer, all of whom are 26 years of age. Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Lukas Nmecha are all over 6ft while Gudmundsson is 5ft 11, still pretty tall for a full-back.
But other left-backs were linked with Leeds before Underwood decided to pursue Gudmundsson. One was Reinildo Mandava, with Leeds and Sunderland among the clubs to approach Mandava this summer.
Reinildo Mandava in action for Atletico Madrid.
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Mozambique international has joined Sunderland after his Atletico Madrid contract came to an end. Mandava needed to play 45 minutes in half of Atletico Madrid’s games to earn a contract extension.
But prior to the Club World Cup, he had only managed 45 minutes in 17 of Atleti’s 55 2024-25 matches. Mandava has now joined Sunderland and explained how it is a “dream come true” following confirmation.
“It is a dream to play for an historic club like Sunderland. I will give everything on the pitch for my team. I am going to become the first Mozambican player, so this isn’t something that happens every single day.”
How many players have Sunderland signed ahead of Leeds?
Leeds made a £22m bid for Habib Diarra but Sunderland chose to meet Strasbourg’s asking price, which has seen The Black Cats land the Senegal star for a fee north of £30m. Diarra has moved to Wearside.
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Then, out of the blue, Noah Sadiki completed a move to Sunderland. It was claimed that Leeds made a bid of £11m for the Belgian champion, only for Sunderland to go above Leeds and sign him for £17m.
Now, Sunderland have got themselves Mandava. Bournemouth have won the race for Djordje Petrovic, while Lucas Perri is being linked with both, while Leeds and Sunderland have held talks for Matthis Abline.