Sunderland Star ‘Will Travel’ As He Closes In On Move In ‘Next 24 Hours’ | OneFootball

Sunderland defender Arthur Masuaku ‘will travel’ to France to undergo a medical ahead of a switch to Lens ‘in the next 24 hours’, according to journalist Keith Downie.

The Black Cats snapped up the experienced defender last summer from Turkish giants Besiktas, bringing him back to the Premier League where he had a spell at West Ham United.

Masuaku though has received little regular game time under Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris and he has been looking to move.

It emerged near the end of the year that he would be willing to complete a switch back to Besiktas.

And earlier this month, Belgian side Standard Liege opened talks to try to sign Masuaku, though hit a stumbling block due to Sunderland’s demands.

Masuaku was open to the idea of a move to Belgium with Standard Liege, but it is to France that the defender is going, with the Pro League side missing out.

He ‘has agreed’ to complete a loan switch to French side Lens and ‘will travel’ to seal the move by undergoing a medical ‘in the next 24 hours’.

It is unclear if the loan switch will contain any option for Lens to keep Masuaku, who signed a two-year deal with Sunderland last summer, on a permanent basis.

He will now have the chance to play in Ligue 1 again following a very brief spell at the very start of his career, something which could have happened earlier as Monaco were keen on him in 2018.

Masuaku will be joining a Lens side who have been having a remarkable season in the French top flight.

They sit just two points off league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, though have played one fewer game than the Parc des Princes outfit.

Lens are due to take on Marseille at the Stade Velodrome later today and Masuaku will surely be an interested observer.

They have won their last ten games on the spin across all competitions and Masuaku could be linking up with a Lens side on the verge of an historic campaign in French football.