Sunderland stun Leeds as Fabrizio Romano gives ‘Here we go’ for astonishing club record deal

Sunderland have won the race to sign Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra after Fabrizio Romano confirmed the Black Cats had come steaming in with a colossal offer that has now been accepted – leaving Leeds United to chase a major signing of their own as an alternative.

Both Leeds and Sunderland – the latter via the play-offs – have won promotion to the Premier League and are frantically trying to strengthen their squads to give themselves as good a chance as possible to stay afloat. But after all six of the sides last securing their place among the elite all suffered immediate relegations, the task of establishing yourself back among the elite has arguably never been harder.

As such, a lot of these clubs are likely to compete for many of the same targets, and the same can now be true of Strasbourg star Diarra.

The Ligue 1 side had already confirmed their willingness to sell the Senegal star this summer after a brilliant season in Ligue 1, though their president, Marc Keller, had made clear a deal would only be done if their demands were met in full.

And while Leeds have seen an opening gambit worth around £22m (€25.75m, $30m) rejected, the door has swung wide open for Sunderland to take advantage – and the Black Cats have come steaming in to quickly nail down an agreement and exchange contracts over a deal.

Revealing that the 21-year-old is now destined for Wearside, transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano posted on X: ‘More on Habib Diarra and Sunderland exclusive story overnight.