Sunderland's hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League receiving a big boost at the weekend after they ended Jose Mourinho's 77 match undefeated streak at Stamford Bridge, coupled with Liverpool winning at Norwich, it means Sunderland's survival is in their own hands. With hopes growing of an unlikely escape, it appears as if transfer speculation for next season is under way.
According to Italian website TuttoMercatoWeb, both Sunderland and Newcastle have been offered Sporting Lisbon winger Diego Capel. The report suggests that Gus Poyet's side are interested in striking a deal of around €5m for the Spanish international but only if they manage to avoid relegation to the Championship.
26-year-old Capel is an exciting, direct winger who primarily plays on the left wing, who started his career in Sevilla and had a successful time with the Andalusia based side, winning two UEFA Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and the Copa Del Rey twice. After impressing with Sevilla he made his Spain debut in 2008 and has two caps to his name.
His performances with Sevilla were enough to capture the attention of many clubs but it was Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon who won the battle for his signature, signing the player for a fee of €3.5m. Although not as successful in Portugal as he was in La Liga, Capel has still been a regular at the Estádio José Alvalade, playing 111 times so far for Sporting, scoring 15 goals.
Obviously we will have to wait to see which division we are in before we sign any first-team players but Capel was linked with Lee Congerton's former club Hamburg earlier in the season, as well as Liverpool, so it's possible Congerton has retained interest in the winger from his time at the German club. Possibly one to keep an eye on.
For all you YouTube scouts out there, you can check out Diego Capel yourself in the video below: