Sunderland have reportedly brought in another new recruit, an experienced defender who Declan Rice once described as “excellent”.
Sunderland have had a very busy summer on the transfer front following promotion, having announced nine signings so far.
Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fee, Habib Diarra, Marc Guiu, Noah Sadiki, Reinildo Mandava, Chemsdine Talbi, Robin Roefs, and Simon Adingra have all joined the Black Cats.
Now, it looks like signing number 10 is over the line, with Sunderland likely to announce his arrival imminently.
Sunderland have bolstered their defensive ranks with the signing of former West Ham full-back Arthur Masuaku, according to Fabrizio Romano.
“Arthur Masuaku to Sunderland, here we go! Deal agreed with the left-back,” Romano wrote on X on Friday.
“Exclusive details: he’s signing a two year deal at #SAFC with medical completed today.
“Masuaku, next signing for Sunderland project with more to follow.”
Masuaku is set to join Sunderland having recently left Besiktas on a free transfer after his contract expired.
The 31-year-old made 108 competitive appearances for Besiktas, along with 142 outings for West Ham during his seven-year spell in East London.
Masuaku struck up a friendship with Declan Rice while at West Ham, though the Arsenal man was also honest with his then teammate when it came to mistakes on the pitch.
In September 2019, Masuaku was sent off for a challenge in a Premier League game between West Ham and Aston Villa.
Rice admitted he gave Masuaku a telling off, though he stressed that the defender had been “excellent” overall.
“To be fair, I just said to Arthur then, ‘what are you doing?’ And he looked at me and said it wasn’t a foul,” Rice told Sky Sports at the time.
“I haven’t seen it yet, but, he was already on a yellow. So I’ve got to say that when you’re on a yellow, especially with VAR now, you’ve got to be careful.
“You can’t be making silly challenges because ultimately that could have cost us tonight. But Arthur’s been excellent since he’s come back into the team.”
A year later, Rice told Masuaku he was back to his best, to which the defender joked on Instagram by saying “stop teasing me bro”, along with a cry-laugh emoji and a middle finger emoji.
Other light-hearted interactions between Rice and Masuaku have taken place on social media.
Masuaku is an attack-minded full back whose arrival will help Sunderland build from the back.
The experienced 31-year-old is comfortable in possession, a great passer of the ball, and will often try to reach all the way to the byline to whip crosses in.
Masuaku will add valuable experience and cover to Regis Le Bris’ squad, and his arrival also gives the Sunderland boss the option to push Reinildo into central defence.
