A major update has emerged on Giorgi Aburjania, regarding Sunderland's pursuit of the midfielder.

What's the talk?

According to Spanish newspaper Sport Cartagena, as relayed by the Sunderland Echo, Georgian international Giorgi Aburjania has agreed to sign for Sunderland upon the expiry of his contract later this week.

The report claims that Aburjania will leave FC Cartagena this week after opting against signing a new deal with the Spanish club. He is now poised to arrive on Wearside to link up with Lee Johnson and his squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

He won't cost a penny

Kristjaan Speakman could strike gold for Sunderland with this deal. Aburjania will arrive in England as an unknown quantity to opposition teams as he has never played in this country, spending the last six years of his career in Spain and the Netherlands with Sevilla, Lugo, FC Twente, Real Oviedo and Cartagena.

This means that he could surprise other sides who do not know the potential threat that he will be able to pose, unlike with any domestic signings who they will have likely competed against them in previous seasons.

The 26-year-old is a box-to-box player, who can play as a holding midfielder, a central midfielder or an attacking midfielder, and he has also been utilized on both flanks previously in his career.

This highlights his versatility and shows that Johnson could deploy him in a variety of roles across his midfield set-up, potentially making him a valuable option to call upon in League One if he is able to adapt to English football. If Johnson faces any injuries in a midfield position, he could trust that Aburjania is capable of filling in and doing a job as he has been able to play there in the past.

The 6ft 1 beast has plenty of experience playing at a high standard of football. He has played 88 matches in the second division in Spain and 16 times in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands, whilst he has also been capped on 22 occasions by his country, Georgia, on the international stage.

This shows that he has been good enough to consistently play at a higher level than League One throughout his career to date, suggesting that he could thrive at the Stadium of Light as he drops down to the English third tier.

Speakman could seal a bargain deal for the midfielder who will cost the club nothing in terms of a transfer fee. He is out of contract this week and Sunderland will not need to spend a single pennyin terms of a transfer fee to bring him in, with his wages and signing on fee the only concern as they do not need to negotiate with Cartagena.