Reports: Sunderland chasing Croatian international defender - January signing?

The transfer window may have just closed but that hasn’t stopped Sunderland being linked with a possible target for January as, according to Turkish media outlet Milliyet, Simon Grayson intends to compete with Besiktas for the January signing of Domagoj Vida.

Vida’s contract with Dynamo Kiev expires on December 31, so the player will be a free agent once the January transfer window opens. The versatile defender is primarily a central defender but can also play both full back positions.

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According to the report, Sunderland have been scouting the Croatian international for a long time, which may well be true considering we have been linked with the defender consistently for the last few seasons.

Although the 28-year-old being available on a free transfer in January would make it seem like he is an attractive prospect to Sunderland, it’s very unlikely that we would be able to offer a financial package that would allow us to compete with Besiktas, even if he was willing to drop down into the Championship.