Sunderland striker Eliezer Mayenda’s proposed move to Porto has taken another hit. A second Portuguese source dismissed claims a transfer is being worked on.

Reports this past week suggested the Portuguese club were in advanced negotiations with Sunderland over the 21-year-old. However, those claims were quickly challenged by O Jogo, as we covered just yesterday. O Jogo insisted Mayenda was not even on FC Porto’s recruitment list.

Now both A Bola and Record have echoed that stance.

The newspapers stated Porto have not opened negotiations with Sunderland and that the Spanish forward “does not currently form part of the club’s list of attacking targets.”

That makes it three of Portugal’s biggest sports newspapers rejecting the original claims surrounding the Black Cats attacker.

Second denial emerges

The latest report follows claims from Italy. They had suggested Porto were progressing towards an agreement with Sunderland.

According to A Bola and Record, however, there has been no negotiating channel opened between the clubs, and the player remains outside the Portuguese side’s plans. For Sunderland, that leaves little substance behind the speculation.

Last month, reports suggested Mayenda had caught the attention of “several ambitious European clubs”. Although the only team named at the time was French side Stade Rennais. Rennes are again mentioned by A Bola as a club linked with the forward in recent days. However, Porto’s interest now appears to have been ruled out twice.

Sunderland can ignore the rumours

Mayenda established himself as part of Sunderland’s senior squad after arriving from Sochaux in 2023 and spending a short spell on loan at Hibernian.

Able to play as a centre-forward or on either flank, he made 23 first-team appearances last season, scoring twice, and remains under contract until June 2030.

With O Jogo, Record and A Bola now dismissing the Porto links, the transfer rumours appear to have faded almost as quickly as they emerged, leaving Sunderland with little reason to expect contact from the Portuguese club.

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