‘Jackpot Beckons’ For Club As Sunderland ‘Pushing Hard’ For Midfielder | OneFootball

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Sunderland are pushing ahead to sign Congolese midfielder Jules Ahoka from Royal Antwerp, who are not going to add him to their matchday squad on Saturday against Genk.

Except for Thomas Meunier’s free transfer arrival, beating La Liga side Valencia to the Belgian’s signature, the Black Cats have not signed anyone.

Last summer, Regis Le Bris massively benefited from signing the likes of Habib Diarra, Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki to bolster the engine room.

Diarra had some injury issues, but Xhaka and Sadiki were huge hits last season as the Black Cats managed to get into Europe in their first season back to the top flight.

Even though they have been linked with players around Europe, they are yet to make anything stick, but are expected to bring in new faces in the remainder of the window.

They are willing to follow the huge success of Sadiki’s move from the Belgian Pro League and have set their eyes there again.

According to Belgian journalist Alex Brisart, the Black Cats are ‘pushing hard’ for Royal Antwerp star Ahoka.

It has been suggested that the Premier League side are willing to pay north of €10m for the Congolese star and ‘the jackpot beckons’ for Royal Antwerp as a result.

The Great Old have decided that they will not include him in their squad for the weekend league clash against Genk to facilitate a smooth transfer.

The Congo Under-23 international has played only four senior games for the Belgian side, where his contract runs until 2029.

The Black Cats have seen promise in him and are set to pay a sizeable fee for a player with such little senior football experience.

However, he will not have difficulties settling in at Sunderland, as his fellow countryman Sadiki is a key player in Le Bris’s system, and Ahoka will learn the ropes of the Premier League under the 21-year-old, if he completes the move.