Sunderland close to spending record with Mukiele deal

Sunderland have signed France defender Nordi Mukiele from Paris St-Germain in a deal worth £12m, taking their summer spending to around £141.5m.

The 27-year-old's arrival on a four-year contract comes a day after they beat West Ham 3-0 on their return to the top flight.

Mukiele, who spent last season on loan at Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, is the 12th player to sign for the Black Cats this summer.

He will cost an initial 11m euros (£9.5), with a further 3m euros (£2.5m) in add-ons.

"It's a new challenge and I'm happy to be here," said Mukiele. "I saw the atmosphere of the stadium, and this is something I really like.

"The fans are very important in football, and especially in Sunderland. I came here to fight for them."

With 21 signings in the summer of 2022 at a cost of around £142m, Nottingham Forest hold the record for the most transfers by a promoted Premier League club in one window.

Sunderland's new arrivals also include former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, winger Simon Adingra from Brighton, and club-record signing Habib Diarra, who cost around £30m from Strasbourg.

That outlay was balanced by high-profile sales, such as Jobe Bellingham joining Borussia Dortmund and Tom Watson moving to Brighton for a combined total in the region of £37m.

Burnley have brought in 13 new faces at a cost of approximately £100m, while Leeds United have invested £73.5m on their eight signings so far.

Mukiele joined PSG in 2022, where he won five trophies, and played alongside new Sunderland captain Xhaka last season at Leverkusen, where he made 24 appearances.

He started his career at Stade Lavallois before spells at Montpellier and RB Leipzig, and has played 35 Champions League games.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said Mukiele "possesses rare athletic qualities that are perfectly suited to our team in the Premier League" and has "tactical versatility" as he is able to play at centre-back and right-back.