Tonny Trindade de Vilhena of Netherlands
Sunderland are interested in signing Feyenoord midfielder Tonny Vilhena, according to reports.
The Holland under-21 international recently refused to sign a new contract with the Eredivisie club, with manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst seemingly accepting he is on his way out.
“I have to respect his wishes not to sign a new contract,” he said.
Vilhena, who has just turned 21, was on the verge of signing for Southampton last season where he would have been reunited with Ronald Koeman, who gave him his first-team debut at Feyenoord.
The deal fell through, however, and other
Premier League clubs are now hoping to secure his signature.
He has attracted the interest of West Ham and Bournemouth as well as
Sunderland , according to the Daily Mirror.
The central midfielder has scored twice in ten appearances for Feyenoord this season, helping them to third place in the league behind Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
Vilhena was in the headlines for the wrong reasons three days ago when he was involved in a training ground bust-up with team-mate Miquel Nelom.
Pictures show the two of them fighting with each other and being held apart by team-mates during a training session, after Vilhena reacted angrily to a tackle from Nelom.
Jan Kirchhoff is
Sunderland’s only signing in the transfer window so far after the deal with Lorient defender Lamine Kone fell through last week.
