French side Lorient have revealed that they have received two offers for Sunderland target Lamine Kone.
Main man in the frame
The Black Cats have been watching numerous defensive targets over the past few weeks as their options have become paper thin and will be looking to bolster their options in the January transfer window.
It is believed that Kone is one of the main names on the Sunderland hit-list and that Sam Allardyce had been scouting the Ivory Coast international in person last month.
The manager confirmed last week that the defender was one of targets that the Black Cats had been looking at, but denied that a fee had already been agreed for the 26-year-old.
He told the Sunderland Echo last week that there have been “no offers or conversations” with the French club - at that “moment of time”.
One of many
It could be that Allardyce’s mind has changed since then but it is unclear if the Wearside club are one of the formal offers for the defender.
It is believed that fellow Premier League strugglers Norwich City have been strongly linked over the past few days for the £4million rated player.
Kone is one of a few names that are supposedly on the Black Cat’s radar with Allardyce keen to bring in former player James Collins despite the new West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic stating he isn’t looking to offload the 32-year-old.
German quality
It has also been reported that the club have been looking to Bavaria for a new defender having been linked with both Bayern Munich’s Jan Kirchhoff and Schalke’s Joel Matip.
Reports from Germany suggest that Kirchoff has become surplus to requirements at the Allianz Arena and, with just six months left on his contract, Bayern will be looking to cash in rather than let the 25-year-old leave for free in the summer.
Sunderland will start hectic festive fixture list on Saturday, December 26 against Manchester City with kick-off at 3PM BST.