Sunderland Step Up Chase For £3 Million Premier League Defender

Sunderland have launched a bid to sign Younes Kaboul, according to The Times, with the defender commanding a fee of around £3 million. The 29-year-old has fallen out of favour in the Spurs team, and the Black Cats are set to pounce after their top target Nicolas Lombaerts failed a medical ahead of a switch to Wearside. Galatasaray and Besiktas are also said to be interested in Kaboul, though the prospect of regular first team football in the Premier League could be enough to secure a deal with Sunderland, though Galatasaray and Besiktas can both offer European football. This wouldn't be the first time Sunderland have attempted to sign the giant Frenchman as Roy Keane swooped to sign Spurs trio Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque, and Teemu Tainio in 2008, though Kaboul rejected the move and signed for Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth instead. At the time, Kaboul's agent infamously stated that 'not even an earthquake' could take the player up to Wearside, while the Black Cats also tried to move for the defender while he was at Portsmouth, though the south coast side rejected their bid of £5 million plus Anton Ferdinand. Kaboul has since made 89 appearances in five seasons for Spurs, though it remains to be seen whether they are ready to let him go.