Sunderland looking to life after Defoe with Dane replacement
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They don’t yet know which league they’ll be playing in next season, but that isn’t stopping Sunderland planning ahead, with the Black Cats reportedly looking to bolster their attack.
Jermain Defoe has been in heroic form for the Black Cats this season, firing in 12 league goals – exactly a third of his side’s total – as Sam Allardyce’s men battle to stave off relegation into the Championship.
But at 33, time will catch up with the English hotshot sooner rather than later, and it’s understandable Sunderland are looking for younger alternatives to lead them into next season and beyond.
The latest man linked with a move to Wearside is Toulouse forward Martin Braithwaite, who like Defoe, has found goals in a team struggling at the wrong end of the table.
The 24-year-old Danish forward signed for the French club from his native side Esbjerg in 2013, and has consistently impressed in south-west France.
He’s netted over 25 goals in little more than 100 appearances for Toulouse, and has become an international regular too.
With a contract set to expire next summer, Braithwaite is valued by transfermarkt.co.uk at £2.6m, meaning Sunderland could quite comfortably snap the striker up for under £5m this summer.
Braithwaite is no stranger to playing out wide or slightly deeper, and his arrival would hand the Black Cats a versatile forward who seems set for another step up.
Reports have claimed the Wearsiders sent scouts to Hampden Park last month, and were allegedly impressed with that they saw from Braithwaite in Denmark’s friendly with Scotland.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
