Fresh "overweight" claim emerges around Sunderland AFC transfer target at PSG | OneFootball

The Black Cats may have done well not to sign one player last summer

Sunderland summer transfer target Ayman Kari has returned to PSG training overweight this season.

That's according to a report from French outlet Le 10 Sport, who suggest that the midfielder is not currently under consideration for selection by the Ligue 1 champions.

It was a busy summer for Sunderland, who appointed Regis Le Bris as their new manager, with the 48-year-old leaving Lorient following their relegation from the French top-flight last season.

There were also nine new players added to the first-team squad at The Stadium of Light before the market closed on the 30th August.

However, Kari was one player who the Black Cats were seemingly unable to complete a deal for, before the deadline.

Sunderland missed out on swoop for PSG player

It was reported on deadline day that the Championship club had been in talks with PSG over the potential signing of Kari.

Indeed, there was a suggestion that the 19-year-old could have spent this campaign on loan at The Stadium of Light.

Such a move would have reunited the midfielder with Le Bris, after he spent last season on loan with Lorient, making 15 appearances in an injury-hit campaign.

However, no deal to bring Kari to Sunderland was completed, and it now seems as though the player's career path has taken a fresh twist.

As per this latest update, the midfielder returned to training with PSG overweight this summer, and has also shown poor motivation in training.

It had been thought that Kari could have played a part for Luis Enrique's first-team in the French capital this season, but he is yet to feature in a matchday squad during the current campaign.

As a result, the midfielder is still waiting to make his competitive debut for PSG, with his contract at the club set to expire at the end of this season.

Sunderland meanwhile, have made a strong start to the current Championship campaign, with four wins and one defeat from their five league games.

That puts them second in the early standings, with 12 points to their name so far, ahead of the visit of Middlesbrough to the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

Kari transfer may be good for the Black Cats

It does seem as though missing out on the signing of Kari may now turn out to be something of a positive for Sunderland.

Of course, with his connection to Le Bris from their time at Lorient last season, it may have initially seemed like a potentially sensible signing to get done this summer.

Now though, the struggles that the midfielder is enduring at PSG do seem to paint a rather different picture.

Given he is apparently overweight and out of the picture in the French capital, it appears that he may not have made much of an impact at The Stadium of Light had he made the move.

Not only would that have been frustrating for Sunderland from a football perspective, but it may have seen them lose out on their financial investment in this deal.

Given the strong start to the Championship season they have made regardless, it also seems as though they coping well despite not getting this deal.

With that in mind, it does seem as though in some senses, Sunderland may have rather dodged a bullett when their attempts to sign Kari ultimately fell through.