Sunderland line up move to sign £25m midfielder

The Sunderland persuasion will be enjoying watching England and the rest of them at the World Cup over the pond, but they would be forgiven for looking forward to the 2026/27 campaign.

After all, Regis Le Bris‘ side will play out on the continent next season, and Granit Xhaka and his crew are going to need to add depth and dynamism to deal with the new conditions.

Xhaka is a formidable leader, but he turns 34 in September, and Sunderland need to devise a success plan in the middle of the park.

Sunderland looking to add more creativity

The likes of Xhaka and Noah Sadiki have proved inspired signings for Sunderland, shaping the season and ensuring that the Black Cats not only finished comfortably in the Premier League, but defied the odds to qualify for Europe.

However, Sunderland still have some fundamental issues in the build-up, and that needs to be fixed over the coming weeks and months, else the Wearsiders could struggle to balance out English and European competition next term.

According to TEAMtalk, Sunderland have joined the race for Celtic star Arne Engels, who is getting closer to leaving Glasgow this summer. It’s understood that the coming weeks could be decisive in the jam-packed race.

Engels, 22, is one of Scotland’s biggest rising stars, but Celtic are open to selling him this summer for a fee eclipsing £25m, with the Belgian international seeking the next step in his career.

Even with Nottingham Forest showing a vested interest, Sunderland could be the perfect destination, an industrious Premier League outfit with European football to offer.

Why Engels should choose Sunderland this summer

Without Xhaka leading the way, Sunderland could have been fighting a very different fight throughout the 2025/26 season. As pundit Wayne Rooney put it, he was “probably the signing of the season” in the Premier League.

Whether Xhaka replicates that next next season remains to be seen, but Sunderland need to figure out a route forward regardless, and that could lead them to Engels, who has been hailed for his “world-class” playmaking by former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew.

He is as prolific as you like. Across only 98 appearances during his trophy-laden stint at Celtic, Engels has scored 17 goals and supplied 21 assists, typically playing in the middle of the park but also featuring out wide when the situation demands. His versatility is one of his greatest assets, as is a wealth of experience established during his early days out in the Bundesliga with Augsburg.

Engels has the capacity to unlock even the sternest defences, but his defending doesn’t leave much to be desired either, combative and determined in the centre of the park.

If he takes a leaf out of Xhaka’s book at the Stadium of Light next season, the four-cap Belgium star could even develop into the kind of all-action Premier League midfielder who could take the reins from Le Bris’ current deputy, ensuring that Sunderland’s recent success does not prove to be a flash in the pan.

Whether Sunderland match – or indeed eclipse – their efforts across the past ten months remains to be seen, but Le Bris has already admitted that his side need to make a series of signings, and Engels could be a shrewd purchase to help reinforce and dynamise the midfield.