From Spain: New club in the picture to sign Sunderland player before end of month

When Didier Ndong moved to Sunderland in 2016, the way the transfer happened caused some shock in France.

Ligue 1 clubs are used to English sides coming in and snatching away players, but the amount Sunderland put down for the footballer caused genuine astonishment.

Officials at Lorient were said to have ‘almost fainted’ when an offer approaching €20m arrived.

French newspaper L’Equipe called it ‘Ndong, the moment of madness’ and said the offer didn’t reflect what the footballer had been showing in actual matches.

It wasn’t that the French media thought the former Lorient player was rubbish, just that they didn’t feel he was worth the amounts being pushed around.

Ndong failed to help save Sunderland from their slippery slope, and he’s been linked with several clubs this summer.

One of those has been Benfica, although that’s gone somewhat quiet in Portugal.

Sunday’s edition of Marca claims the Sunderland player is an option for Leganes, as the La Liga club look to bring in a reinforcement before the end of the month.

They’d likely prefer a loan, and any chance of a permanent transfer is going to be at a much reduced fee.