Norwich are set to miss out on the signing of Lorient’s defender Lamine Kone after the French club accepted Sunderland’s bid.
The Norfolk side were said to have been leading the race to sign the centre-back, however, it looks like manager Alex Neil will have to turn his attention elsewhere.
Kone arrived in England on Tuesday with hopes of agreeing on a deal with the Black Cats in the next few days and will hope to sign as soon as the window opens.
The 26-year-old French-born defender represented France in the U17 to U20 youth team squads, however, chose to represent Ivory Coast in 2014 and has one cap.
Lorient vice president Alex Hayes told www.ouest-france.fr: “We have received an offer that we have accepted. It is now up to Lamine to find an agreement with Sunderland and to pass the medical before the transfer can be made official.”
Neil’s Norwich side have been linked with a whole host of defenders in the run-up to the transfer window opening tomorrow.
While the Canaries may have missed out on Kone, they continue to be linked with Dinamo Zagreb’s right back Ivo Pinto and Inter Milan centre-back Andrea Rannochia.
