Top Sunderland Target 'Fails Medical'
Is it back to the drawing board for Dick Advocaat?
Nicolas Lombaerts has allegedly failed his medical with Sunderland, just as a move to the Stadium of Light finally looked set to be concluded.
The 30-year-old Belgian starred in Zenits Russian Super Cup win at the weekend, and appeared set to finally seal a £5 million switch to Wearside, though reports have emerged to suggest otherwise.
TuttoMercatoWeb is an Italian-based website, and they claim that Lombaerts has failed the formality of a medical after the club discovered a knee problem with the defender.
It remains to be seen whether there is any concrete truth to the rumours, though it would be a huge blow to Dick Advocaat who has trailed the Belgian for the majority of the summer so far, with a high priority placed on signing another potential starting centre back alongside Seb Coates or John OShea, with Wes Brown in reserve.
It would be an odd turn of events for Lombaerts to fail the formalities, with Advocaat previously working alongside the centre back at Zenit, knowing the player inside out. Lombaerts also just featured in the game on Sunday, and played 39 games in all competitions last season for both club and country.
Keep checking the WhatCulture Sunderland blog for the latest developments with regards to Lombaerts, and everything else red and white.