Having already secured the services of five new players this summer, Sunderland manager Jack Ross may be about to delve back into the transfer market to bolster his squad once again.

According to FootRDC, the 43-year-old is reportedly interested in signing Aaron Tshibola from Aston Villa who are looking to offload some of their fringe players ahead of their return to the Premier League.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo international spent the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Kilmarnock where he made 29 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish Premiership side who finished third in the standings under then-boss Steve Clarke.

Despite being called up for pre-season by Villa boss Dean Smith, Tshibola did not feature in any of the club's five friendlies.

If Sunderland are to bring the 24-year-old to the Stadium of Light, they could have to pay 3m (£2.75m) in order to lure him away from the Lions.

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However, with the Daily Mail reporting last month that Tshibola may be allowed to leave Villa on a free transfer, it is unclear whether the Black Cats will have to fork out the aforementioned fee.

The Verdict

When you consider that both Lee Cattermole and George Honeyman have left the club this summer, Sunderland may very well be in the market for a new central midfielder and thus swooping for Tshibola could prove to be a wise decision for Ross to make.

As well as being an extremely powerful player, he also has an eye for a pass and would suit the 4-4-2 formation that Ross is currently deploying at Sunderland.

Whereas the likes of George Dobson, George Leadbitter and Dylan McGeouch will unquestionably provide stiff competition for Tshibola's position if he does indeed make the move to Wearside, it may be worth the Black Cats adding some further steel to their midfield as doing so could allow them to push on towards promotion in 2020.