A major update has emerged on Sunderland and their pursuit of Ellis Simms in the summer transfer window...
What's the talk?
Northern Echo reporter Scott Wilson has revealed that the club are closing in on the signing of the 21-year-old attacker ahead of the 2022/23 campaign after he decided that he wants to move to Wearside.
The journalist has also claimed that Alex Neil's squad would be bolstered by the arrival of another goalkeeper to challenge Anthony Patterson, which has since been confirmed.
He Tweeted: "TRANSFER LATEST: Turning into quite a day for #SAFC, with Ellis Simms having expressed a desire to join Black Cats on loan from Everton. With Alex Bass on verge of signing from Portsmouth, both deals should hopefully be done in next couple of days..."
Nathan Broadhead 2.0
Signing a striker on loan from Premier League side Everton to challenge Ross Stewart at the top end of the pitch... sound familiar?
The Black Cats brought Nathan Broadhead in on a temporary deal from the Toffees last summer and the Welshman enjoyed a terrific campaign with the club.
He scored an outstanding 10 goals in 15 starts - playing 22 matches - in League One as he helped the team to secure promotion back up to the second tier.
In Simms, Sunderland can land their next lethal goalscorer on loan from Goodison Park as the 21-year-old has shown great promise in his career so far.
John Ebbrell, who previously coached the gem, once praised his finishing ability, saying: “What I do know with Ellis, if he ends up one-vs-one with the goalkeeper, he's scoring.
“From experience, I know if you have time to think for that finish it can be difficult but Ellis is really calm and composed in those situations. He very rarely misses.”
He has been able to translate his finishing into senior football in loan spells at Blackpool in League One and Hearts in the Premiership. In the third tier of English football, Simms scored 10 goals in 23 appearances - starting 19 matches - and averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.03.
The gem then caught the eye in Scotland with five goals and one assist in 11 starts for Hearts, which proves that he is a natural goalscorer as he has showcased his quality in two different leagues.
Therefore, he has the potential to be a superb signing for the Black Cats and could have a similar impact to the one Broadhead had at the Stadium of Light in 2021/22.
AND in other news, "Major blow..": Journo drops frustrating SAFC transfer claim that'll leave Neil gutted...