‘He could have gone to Sunderland’ – Versatile attacker snubs chance to join Black Cats in January

Early on in the January transfer window, we saw a few articles suggesting that Sunderland were interested in Lille’s Alan Virginius.

It was said that the Championship side, who recently appointed Michael Beale as their new manager, had picked out the young versatile winger for a loan, perhaps even one with an option to buy.

In the end, however, Virginius seemingly snubbed the option to go to Sunderland, and has signed for Clermont Foot in France, as explained by La Montagne.

They waste no time in bringing the Black Cats into the conversation, perhaps as a source of pride that he would choose the local team over a prestigious English team.

La Montagne state ‘he could have gone to Sunderland’, Switzerland or Saint-Etienne, and as of Monday, the deal with Clermont Foot was ‘very close’.

However, they won’t include an option to buy in the deal, meaning that if Michael Beale and his staff still want Virginius in the summer, they could sit down with Lille and see if a deal can be struck.

The 21-year-old has only made eight appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 club this season, which is why a move needed to happen to help his development.