Sunderland have opened talks with Bordeaux for Tunisia international Wahbi Khazri.
The talented 24-year-old has been on Sunderland's radar for a few months and Sam Allardyce and his scouting team have followed up on those earlier reports after being impressed in recent weeks.
Swansea City, Aston Villa and Everton had also followed Khazri who plays across the frontline, behind the striker or cutting in from the left.
He is a fiery character, born in Corsica, and has six goals in 13 games for Tunisia. Allardyce needed to move quickly as talks for Andre Ayew stalled with Swansea reluctant to sell and the deal proving too complicated.
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Tunisia international Wahbi Khazri (right), who plays for Bordeaux, is the subject of interest from Sunderland
Ayew could yet sign a new deal with the Welsh club. Swansea have agreed a fee for Chievo's Alberto Paloschi and are continuing to pursue Dwight Gayle with Crystal Palace pushing for a deal worth up to £9m. Bafetimbi Gomis could yet be offloaded for £7m with Newcastle and clubs in the Middle East still interested, as reported by Sportsmail.
Sunderland, meanwhile, are continuing talks with Arsenal over Mathieu Debuchy