Sunderland and Newcastle reportedly made fresh approaches for Nantes striker Matthis Abline but a deal fell through
Sunderland made a late attempt to sign Nantes striker Matthis Abline on deadline day, but the French forward is set to remain with his club after talks failed to progress.
Reports in France from Ouest France state that the Black Cats made a fresh approach in the final hours of the window, with Newcastle United also making enquiries about the 22-year-old. However, neither club submitted a formal offer, and Nantes stood firm in their stance over the player’s valuation.
Abline, a France U21 international, has been on Sunderland’s radar for several weeks as sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head coach Régis Le Bris looked to strengthen their attacking options before the deadline.
The Black Cats are said to have previously had an offer of around £17.25million rejected, with Nantes believed to be holding out for a fee closer to £43.3million amid reported interest from clubs including Marseille, Lille and several European clubs. The striker enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season, scoring nine Ligue 1 goals and earning a spot in France’s U21 squad that reached the semi-finals of the European Championship.
In other transfer news, Alan Browne has completed a season-long loan move to Middlesbrough and says the chance to be closer to home and help a “massive club” fight for Premier League promotion was too good to turn down.
The 30-year-old midfielder departs Sunderland after making 23 appearances last season, playing his part as the Black Cats secured promotion back to the top flight. But with opportunities expected to be limited under Régis Le Bris this season.
Browne says the move to Teesside made sense for a number of reasons. Speaking to the club’s media team after signing, Browne admitted his first emotion was relief: “Yeah, probably relief more than anything,” he said when asked for his initial reaction to joining Middlesbrough.
Browne explained why the move felt right for him at this stage of his career: “Well, I think for obvious reasons. It's close to home where I am at the moment. I've got a young family, so that was always going to make the move easy and it's a massive club.
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“It's a Premier League club if we're being honest and that's what I'm going to try to help get the club back to. They've made an amazing start so far, some good individual players. I had a brief chat with the manager who talked me into it as well.” Browne admitted he has been keeping up with Middlesbrough’s early-season form: “I watch the highlights every weekend, but I didn't get a chance to watch a full game. Hopefully that'll come.”
The Republic of Ireland international, who spent a decade at Preston North End before joining Sunderland last summer, says that experience shaped his entire career: “Oh, it was brilliant. I went from a boy to a man basically. It was life-changing for me at the time and I just grew as a person and a player throughout my years there and gained a lot of experience, which hopefully I can bring to the fort this club.”
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