Sunderland are said to be interested in signing former Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa right back Eric Lichaj, as per a recent post by football journalist Alan Nixon on Twitter.

The 32-year-old is currently a free agent after departing Turkish side Fatih Karagümrük back in January and could well make a return to English football this summer.

Capable of playing at both right or left back, Lichaj has plenty of Football League experience to his name after taking in spells with Forest, Villa, Hull City, Leeds United, Lincoln City and Leyton Orient over the years gone by.

Now it appears that the Black Cats could be willing to offer the veteran a way back into the EFL, as Nixon stated the following:

Lichaj has over 250 Championship appearances to his name and would certainly provide a solid option for Sunderland on the right hand side of the defence if he did indeed move to the Stadium of Light.

Lee Johnson and co have only brought in goalkeeper Jacob Carney this summer on a free transfer and could well make the American their second addition of the window in the near future.

The Verdict 

It appears that the Black Cats will probably run the rule over Lichaj in training before deciding on whether to offer him a deal, which means that a behind closed doors friendly may well be in the pipeline.

As defenders go, there aren't many that would be available for free with his level of experience and therefore I think Sunderland will give this one some very serious consideration.

He would provide a short term solution to what has been a problem position for the club in the past and I think Johnson would be open to the idea of bringing him in on a short term contract to begin with.

Overall this deal ticks a lot of boxes and I think they should definitely give him a chance to prove his worth.