Sunderland on verge of signing Simon Adingra from Brighton in £21m deal

Sunderland are to confirm the signing of Simon Adingra from Brighton for an initial £21m plus bonuses as they continue their preparations for life in the Premier League.

It is understood that the Ivory Coast forward, who has made 73 appearances for Brighton since signing from Danish side FC Nordsjælland in 2022, is on Wearside to complete his move after having his medical on Wednesday. Sunderland have a longstanding interest in Adingra and he was part of negotiations in January in which their playoff final hero Tommy Watson moved to the south coast for £10m, before returning on loan, although a potential swap deal failed to materialise.

Adingra was used sparingly by Brighton manager, Fabian Hürzeler, last season having slipped down the pecking order at the Amex Stadium despite being a regular under his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi. He was named as the young player of the tournament at the last African Nations Cup in 2023 after helping the hosts to victory and will add Premier League experience to Sunderland’s squad.

Regis Le Bris’s side have already made Enzo Le Fée’s move to the Stadium of Light permanent for £20m after he spent last season on loan from Roma and broke their transfer record again to sign Senegal international Habib Diarra this month for £30m. They have also signed the Democratic Republic of Congo international Noah Sadiki from Belgian side Union SG for around £18m and have been linked with a move for Jordan Henderson, who left Ajax this week.

Roma are interested in Brighton’s Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham.