da brwin： Journalist Pete O’Rourke reported on Friday that Sunderland were considering a move to sign Leicester City winger Abdul Fatawu in the January transfer window.

da dobrowin： Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie quickly poured water on that fire, though, by stating that the Championship forward is not a target for the Black Cats this month.

Downie added that the left-footed star had been offered to the club after Leicester’s relegation last summer, but they ultimately opted against doing a deal for him, and they are not ready to revisit that interest now.

Fatawu only managed two assists in 11 appearances in the Premier League last season, failing to score a single goal, as the Foxes were relegated to the second tier.

The 21-year-old star has, though, scored five goals and provided seven assists in the Championship this season, including the stunning strike from the halfway line in the clip above.

Sunderland considering a move for a Serie A star

Supporters should not get too upset about the club not being interested in a deal to sign Fatawu this month, as they are reportedly eyeing up an even better signing.

Transfer Focus

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According to Il Mattino, via Sport Witness, Sunderland are one of a number of clubs pursuing a deal to sign Noa Lang from Napoli before the end of the January transfer window.

The report claims that the Black Cats, Fulham, Everton, and Leeds are all interested in snapping up the Netherlands international, as they look to bolster their respective attacks.

It adds that Lang does not have the best relationship with Antonio Conte and that Napoli would be willing to sanction a sale if a decent offer is put on the table this month.

However, it now remains to be seen whether or not Sunderland are willing to make a concrete bid for the winger, or how much it would take to convince the Italian side to cash in on him.

Why Lang would be a better signing than Fatawu

As aforementioned, Fatawu did very little in the Premier League with Leicester last season and is yet to prove that he can perform consistently in the top-flight.

The 21-year-old forward has never scored a league goal outside of the Championship in his senior career, per Sofascore, and has only provided two assists in the Liga Portugal and the Premier League combined.

This means that the youngster would be a risky signing for the Black Cats because it remains to be seen if he can deliver consistent quality at the top level, but there would not be as much of a concern for Lang.

The Dutch winger has proven his quality in the top-flights of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy with Club Brugge, PSV, and Napoli, which suggests that he could hit the ground running in England with Sunderland.

Lang has scored one goal, created four ‘big chances’, and provided two assists in just seven starts in the Serie A for Napoli this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been fairly productive in limited game time.

Whilst he has impressed in limited minutes for the Italian side, it is Lang’s form in previous seasons for PSV and Club Brugge that really suggest that he would be a much better signing than Fatawu.

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The 26-year-old star, who was described as a “constant threat” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, delivered goals and assists on a regular basis for those two clubs in the last five seasons before his move to Napoli last summer.

Noa Lang’s last 5 full seasons (all comps)

Season

Goals

Assists

24/25 (PSV)

14

12

23/24 (PSV)

5

1

22/23 (Club Brugge)

9

8

21/22 (Club Brugge)

8

13

20/21 (Club Brugge)

17

7

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Lang is a proven forward who can make a big impact at the top end of the pitch as both a scorer and a creator of goals, having proven himself at the top level in three different countries.

Meanwhile, Fatawu is yet to show that he can deliver consistent quality outside of the second tier in England, which is why it may be a good thing that the club are reportedly not interested in doing a deal to sign him this month.

Instead, Regis Le Bris’ side should be pushing to sign Lang from Napoli ahead of their Premier League rivals to provide them with a boost at the top end of the pitch for the second half of the season and beyond.

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