Reports: Sunderland Interest In Left Back Trio?

After reports linking the club with a loan move for Alexander Buttner yesterday, as we covered in The Gossip earlier today, it seems as if Roberto De Fanti has a few irons in the fire with regard to the long awaited left back arrival.

The left back trio in question are Saint-Etienne's Fazoum Ghoulam, Andrea Dossena of Napoli and Guilherme Siqueira. Interestingly the first two are still on the market after both had moves to Serie A side Torino fall through for differing reasons, Ghoulam failed to agree personal terms and Dossena failed his medical after it was found he had a muscular injury that will take two to three weeks to fully heal.

Ghoulam, who was left out of the Saint-Etienne squad to play Bordeaux today, is still expected to leave Les Verts, with the French club chasing Peter Ankerson of Esbjerg as his replacement. Torino had a €2.75m (+add-ons) bid for the defender accepted and after that move broke down he has been linked with a move to QPR, as well as Sunderland.

The 22-year-old Algerian does look like a good fit, as he's young, athletic and relatively cheap (he currently earns around £6,500 per week at Saint-Etienne).

According to reports in Italy, Sunderland and Napoli are in contact regarding a possible transfer of Dossena, with Napoli keen to move him on before the transfer window closes. However it's thought that the move will be a difficult one to push through.

Dossena, at 31-year-old and on around £20,000 per week, doesn't look as appealing as Ghoulam but he does have Premier League experience after an 18 month spell with Liverpool and with the clock ticking down on the transfer window, may be a useful option to fill the problematic left back spot.

There are also reports that Sunderland and Benfica have made offers for Guilherme Siqueira of Granada. Siqueira has also recently been linked with Liverpool and Real Madrid, with Real Madrid believed to have agreed a loan deal for the defender that hinges on Fabio Coentrao leaving the club but with Coentrao still at the club it has opened the door for interest from other clubs. Granada are believed to want around £5m for the 27-year-old Brazilian.

It's good to see the club exploring various options for this position but with so little time left in the window, they will have their work cut out to clinch a deal.