Sunderland eyeing £30m Newcastle target with Toon move now ‘off’ – Sky Sports

But many Toon fans will no doubt be wondering if we’ve missed something by not trying to sign Bilal El Khannouss instead.

The Moroccan midfielder has been linked with a move away from Leicester City and back into the Premier League this summer, and sometimes our midfield is crying out for a more attacking option than what we can currently field.

With no move looking likely on our part now Ramsey has arrived instead, it has opened the door for more than just Crystal Palace to swoop in for the Foxes star.

According to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, Sunderland’s summer spending spree doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon, as El Khannouss is now being targeted to sign at the Stadium of Light.

Writing on X, Downie commented “Sunderland also have a long-standing interest in Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester. SAFC keen on the attacking midfielder but aren’t actively in talks at this moment. One to watch…”

The Mackems have already brought in a number of midfielders as part of their immense squad overhaul, including Granit Xhaka, and have now spent the most money on new signings of any promoted team in Premier League history.

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace still look to be the frontrunners to sign the Moroccan, who will be a good replacement for the departing Eberechi Eze, but it’s a sign of our rivals’ newfound ambition.

The Mail’s Craig Hope has ruled out any chance of a move to Tyneside for El Khannous, claiming this is a £30m-plus deal we are no longer pursuing now Ramsey has signed.

Even without signing El Khannous, Howe does have his preferred number of six midfield options available to him in his squad, on top of the numerous young midfielders coming through the academy.

With the core trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali as first choice, the newly-signed Ramsey will be competing alongside Lewis Miley and Joe Willock for a chance to break into the starting XI.

However, is six even enough for how many games we’re going to have to play this season? We’ve already got eight UCL fixtures to think about that we didn’t have to play last season, and Willock getting injured before the season had even begun means we’re down to just two back ups.

But whilst funds must be spent somewhere, it’s likely we see Howe again call upon one of his youngsters in the U21 set up to deputise in case things get really bad like they did in the 23/24 season, with Alfie Harrison and Travis Hernes the best suited options at this moment in time.