TRANSFER ROUNDUP

It's been a weird January for Sunderland. Enzo Le Fee arrived very early, but since then we've seen no activity in the window. However, with Monday's deadline approaching, rumours are now beginning to emerge regarding both incomings and outgoings.

ADIL AOUCHICHE

First, it has been reported that Adil Aouchiche is close to a loan move that would take him to Portsmouth until the end of the season. It is no secret that Regis Le Bris does not fancy/trust Aouchiche, and it took a major injury crisis to give the attacking midfielder any minutes this season. He's only started three league games and has barely even come off the bench throughout this campaign. If Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson hadn't have been injured, I think the Frenchman would have left much earlier this month. It's a real shame that things haven't worked out here. He's shown glimpses of talent but never managed to nail down a place in the side under any of his managers on Wearside. Hopefully he's able to find consistent game time at Pompey, help keep them up and at the very least give Sunderland a tricky decision to make in the summer.

JOE ANDERSON

Another player who has been told he is allowed to leave the club before Monday night is Joe Anderson. The defender spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury Town but has spent this campaign with our under-21s. He's 23 now and has been linked with a whole host of League One clubs including Exeter City and Bristol Rovers. Anderson hasn't played a single Championship minute this season and has only been named in the matchday squad for one league game.Unlike Aouchiche, it looks like this move will be a permanent one for the former Everton under-21s captain.

MARCUS EDWARDS

Moving onto potential signings (much more exciting!), the most recent name to emerge from the rumour mill is Sporting CP winger Marcus Edwards. He's had a fascinating career path; a Spurs academy product, who had a loan spell with Norwich and then was loaned abroad to Excelsior Rotterdam, before joining Vitória S.C. permanently at just 20 years old. He obviously made a good impression there because Portuguese giants Sporting bought him in 2022. While as Spurs as a teenager, Mauricio Pochettino compared him to Lionel Messi! He's a left footed right winger who would offer significant competiton with Patrick Roberts. One of Roberts or Edwards could also play more centrally. Sunderland and Burnley have both been linked with Edwards on a surprising permanent deal. Despite the winger's pedigree, he's only played six times this season in Liga Portugal, scoring once. The 26-year-old has Champions League and Europa League experience so, just like Enzo Le Fee, would send a message of Sunderland's ambition to the rest of the league.

WILLEM GEUBBELS

Another interesting transfer link in recent days is French forward Willem Geubbels, who has reportedly attracted the interest in several Championship clubs including West Brom, Luton and SAFC. According to journalist Sebastian Denis, Luton have seen an €8 million (£6.69 million) bid turned down, while Blackburn's lower offer of €4 million (£3.34 million) has also been rejected. He's currently playing in Switzerland for FC St. Gallen, where he's scored seven goals in 14 league games, but previously played in his home country France for Monaco (who paid 20m Euros for him) and before that coming out of Lyon's famous academy. He's likely to be familiar with Regis Le Bris, and vice-versa, due to his time as a French youth international. He's yet another player who hasn't exactly reached his high potential but at 23 years old still has plenty of time to develop as the right club.