Sunderland now set to miss out on 26-year-old World Cup star to Tony Mowbray

It appears that Sunderland will not be able to sign Birmingham City’s midfield target, Tony Mowbray.

Even though Sunderland turned down Tony Mowbray’s approach for Alex Pritchard, the 30-year-old is still someone Tony Mowbray wants back, and it hasn’t stopped him from stealing another midfield player from his old team.

This week, Sunderland made it apparent that they wanted to strengthen their midfield. They started negotiations with Barnsley to acquire Callum Styles, and they were also connected to Lyon’s Skelly Alvero.

Additionally, Sports Donga has now disclosed that Sunderland expressed interest in signing Paik Seung-ho, a star for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

According to the source, Sunderland, Birmingham City, as well as teams in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, have made bids to the 26-year-old. But instead of going to Wearside, he’s decided to move to the Midlands and work with Tony Mowbray.

It is thought that the midfielder will put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year contract at St. Andrews this week, though it is unclear how much they are coughing up to land him. He may move on the cheap after entering the final six months of his deal in South Korea.

Who is Paik Seung-ho?

Born in Seoul, Paik Seung-ho joined Barcelona’s academy in 2010.

He had little chance of competing for a place in the senior team and went onto

join Girona seven years later, where he made 55 appearances for their B team.

Seung-ho made six appearances for the senior team during the 2018-19 season,

before moving to the German second division with Darmstadt.

After dropping down the rankings, he made 41 appearances in the 2. Bundesliga before eventually returning to South Korea with Jeonbuk.

In 2019, the 26-year-old made his debut on the international scene and has since accrued 15 caps. Before receiving a nomination for goal of the tournament, he made one substitute appearance for South Korea in their 2022 World Cup round of 16 match against Brazil, when he scored their lone goal of the match.

The six-foot-tall talent, however, has struggled to play meaningful minutes for the South Korean national team ever since Jurgen Klinsmann’s appointment in February 2023.

Seung-ho was not included in the squad for the June matches against Peru and El Salvador after being used as a substitute in international friendlies against Uruguay and Colombia. Afterwards, he was left out of the AFC Asia Cup squad for this month.

He is now optimistic that playing in the Championship will increase his chances

of making it back to the national team roster later in the year.