Roker Roundup: Isaac Lihadji to Sunderland deal ‘hours away’, according to French report

Lihadji deal ‘hours away’

Sunderland are expected to complete the signing of exciting French winger Isaac Lihadji in the coming days - potentially within hours - according to French outlet La Voix Du Nord.

They claim that his departure from LOSC Lille will be completed in the coming days or even the next few hours, and that Lihadji was missing from training at the Ligue 1 club on Wednesday as he wraps up his move to Wearside.

The report goes on to claim that Lille will not receive compensation once his departure his confirmed - which would make him another in an ever-growing line of Sunderland recruits who have been signed without costing us a penny in transfer fees.

The 20-year-old has featured 30 times in Ligue 1, four times in the Europa League and three times in the Champions League and played 15 times for Lille in their Ligue 1 winning campaign during the 20-21 season.

Photo by Jasmin Walter - FC Red Bull Salzburg/FC Red Bull Salzburg via Getty Images

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Major award for Mignolet

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has won the prestigious Golden Shoe award.

The award is given to the best player in the Belgian league and Mignolet won with a record total 683 points, the biggest margin of victory over the second place player (Casper Nielsen) in the history of the Soulier D’or.

Mignolet won the award for his phenomenal form over the course of 2022 for Club Brugge, which was a major factor in the now Scott Parker-managed club becoming Belgian champions.

Photo by KURT DESPLENTER/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

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Hysen on life at Sunderland

Ex-Sunderland winger Tobias Hysen has given an interview with SvenskaFans where he revealed the reason his move to the North East didn’t work out.

Although he says he was at a fantastic club, Hysen says he was not ready for an adventure abroad and as a result never really enjoyed his time at the club:

Sunderland as a club was a fantastic club! An incredible amount of fans and you noticed how big football was up there in the North East of England. It was a successful season for the team, with promotion to the Premier League, but there was just as much celebration that rivals Newcastle and Middlesbrough went out, hahaha!

For my own part, I wasn’t really mentally ready for that life. I guess I’ve always been a homebody guy, so I never really enjoyed myself there.

When asked if he had any regrets about his time at Sunderland, Hysen explains that he could have done some things different but in the end he was just very homesick:

Well, there is probably a lot I could have done differently in one way, but at the same time. I was not happy there. Probably very homesick, and you can say whatever you want about that.

Photo by PA Images via Getty Images