Champion League
Sunderland Eyeing £7m “Top Talent” Who Can Partner Stewart

Sunderland have gone continental of their seek for one other new striker as Tony Mowbray seems to additional add to a squad able to difficult for Premier League promotion as soon as once more.
What are the newest Sunderland switch rumours?
The Black Cats suffered a disappointing playoff semi-final loss to Luton Town a bit of over a month in the past, however since then they’ve moved to herald Nectarios Triantis, Jobe Bellingham and Luis ‘Hemir’ Semedo.
Semedo impressed for Benfica B final season however continues to be a relative rookie, having yet to play any senior football, and that might imply Mowbray spreading his proverbial web additional out in seek for an unpolished gem.
French outlet Le Parisien stories that Rennes ahead Matthis Abline could also be simply the participant, with the Black Cats stated to be keeping an eye on his situation.
Who’s Rennes ahead Matthis Abline?
Abline has already played 38 times in Ligue 1 and likewise has 4 Europa League appearances to his title, which features a aim in Rennes’ 1-1 group-stage draw with Larnaca final season.
With that strike, he overtook El-Hadji Diouf as Rennes’ youngest scorer in European competitors, incomes reward from soccer reporter Tom Maston as “another top talent” to emerge via the membership’s academy.
That was one in every of simply 4 senior objectives the teenager has netted, suggesting he’s hardly the 15-goal-plus attacker many Championship golf equipment crave, however 22 of his 30 league appearances with Rennes and mortgage aspect Auxerre got here instead final season.
The 20-year-old can also be attracting curiosity from French sides Strasbourg and Lorient, whereas Rennes value him at €8m (£7m), so he clearly has one thing about him.
Certainly, whereas there may be undoubtedly room for enchancment when it comes to his aim return, FBref ranks Abline in the top 15% for progressive carries per 90 minutes (1.96) compared to his positional friends throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues, and prime 14% for each profitable take-ons (1.20) and touches within the opposition penalty field (5.81).
To present these numbers some context, at a decrease degree final season, the highly-regarded Ellis Simms registered 1.92 progressive carries per 90 minutes for Sunderland, 0.48 profitable take-ons and 4.64 touches within the opposition field.
Abline additionally stands out when it comes to varied defensive metrics such as interceptions (0.34 per 90 minutes) and blocks (0.77) – placing him within the prime 16% and 18% respectively amongst his friends – which exhibits he’s able to doing either side of the sport.
With Amad Diallo again at Manchester United and Jack Clarke regularly linked with a transfer away, it would properly be that France U21 worldwide Abline is taken into account a really perfect choice to associate the returning Ross Stewart.
Stewart’s 1.12 objectives and assists per 90 final season was the third-best return of any Championship gamers to have performed 10 video games or extra, which means he’s able to taking good care of that aspect of issues.
If Abline can add some objectives to his sport, the info exhibits he will be an improve on Simms on the Stadium of Mild, which is able to in flip solely profit Stewart when he’s totally again in control.