Sunderland Closing in on £26m Dayann Methalie Transfer

Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Dayann Methalie from Toulouse in a deal worth about £26m, edging ahead of long‑time admirers Newcastle United for one of Ligue 1’s most coveted young defenders.

Methalie, a France Under‑21 international, has been tracked across Europe this summer after a breakout campaign in which he made 27 league appearances for Toulouse. At 20, he fits every modern recruitment brief: tall, quick, left‑footed and versatile enough to cover several roles across the back line.

Newcastle had done the legwork. Scouts watched him repeatedly, the club explored a move in January and, on paper, he looked tailor‑made for their strategy of targeting players in the £20m‑£40m bracket with room to grow. Yet when the window opened, they stepped away. No bid this summer. No late push.

Sunderland moved into the space.

Le Bris’s French core grows

Régis Le Bris is understood to be close to securing Methalie on a five‑year contract at the Stadium of Light, with only the final details left to complete. Sunderland can offer something Newcastle cannot this season: Europa League football.

The project is clear. Methalie will walk into a dressing room increasingly shaped in his manager’s image and language. Enzo Le Fée, Nordi Mukiele and Habib Diarra are already in place, giving Sunderland a sizeable French‑speaking contingent and a clear identity under Le Bris. Thomas Meunier, signed on a free after leaving Lille, arrived earlier in the summer to strengthen the opposite flank.

Methalie, at 6ft 2in, brings more than just height. His recovery pace and physical edge have made him stand out in France, but it is his composure on the ball and his assured left foot that have really turned heads. Toulouse used him at left‑back, as a wing‑back and as a left‑sided centre‑half in both a back three and a back four. Sunderland are buying flexibility as much as potential.

He will not walk straight into the team unchallenged. Reinildo stands in his way at left‑back and has the experience to make that a genuine battle. Yet Methalie’s ability to tuck inside and operate as a central defender gives Le Bris options that go beyond a simple one‑for‑one fight for a shirt.

Newcastle still searching at full‑back

Across the Tyne, the picture looks very different. Newcastle remain in the market for both left‑back and right‑back cover, with the latter a growing concern for Eddie Howe after Kieran Trippier’s departure at the end of last season.

Right‑back has been a cornerstone position for Howe’s Newcastle, both tactically and in the dressing room. Losing Trippier’s influence and delivery has left a gap that the manager is determined to fill before the window closes. Methalie would have ticked several boxes, but the club’s hierarchy ultimately chose not to enter the bidding.

While the full‑back search continues, the bigger question hangs over Bruno Guimarães. Howe’s hopes of keeping his captain rest largely on Arsenal. If the London club decide to meet a fee in the region of £80m, Newcastle face the prospect of losing their midfield heartbeat.

For now, Guimarães is on a post‑World Cup break in Brazil and is due back on Tyneside on Friday. From there, he is scheduled to travel with the rest of the first‑team squad to a training camp in La Manga. His presence on that plane will be watched closely; so will Arsenal’s resolve.

Willock future in the balance

Joe Willock’s situation adds another layer of uncertainty to Newcastle’s midfield planning. Besiktas have already tested the water with an offer in the region of £10m for the former Arsenal player. Newcastle turned it down, but the response did not close the door.

The club appear open to a sale if the price climbs closer to £20m, a figure that would help ease financial pressure while giving Howe scope to reshape his squad. It leaves Willock in a familiar limbo: wanted enough to command a fee, not secure enough to be considered untouchable.

So Sunderland push ahead with a bold, continental‑flavoured rebuild, landing a defender Newcastle once seemed destined to sign. Newcastle, meanwhile, juggle gaps at full‑back and looming decisions over two key midfielders.

One club is buying into a new identity. The other is trying to make sure it does not lose its own.