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Done dealUpdated 08:49 UK · 24 Aug

Dayann Méthalie to Sunderland
French left-back completes €28m move

ToulouseToulouseSunderlandSunderlandFee€28mReliability100%
The story so far
  1. 21 Aug
    Move confirmed
    Sunderland officially announced the signing of Dayann Méthalie on a five-year deal.
  2. 27 Jul
    Personal terms agreed
    Sunderland were reported to have already agreed personal terms with Méthalie while club-to-club talks with Toulouse continued.

The move in full

Sunderland have completed a club-record sale by Toulouse, signing French Under-21 left-back Dayann Méthalie on a five-year deal after a late medical scare threatened to derail the move.

Sunderland have completed the signing of Dayann Méthalie from Toulouse, confirming the move on the club's official website on 21 August. The France Under-21 left-back has signed a five-year contract, running until 2031, and will wear the number six shirt at the Stadium of Light. The fee is reported at around €28m, with a further €5m or so available in add-ons — a deal French outlets have described as the biggest sale in Toulouse's history.

The move followed months of interest from Sunderland, who had already agreed personal terms with Méthalie by late July while club-to-club talks with Toulouse continued, and who saw off competition from other suitors, including Newcastle United, to land the 20-year-old. Director of football Florent Ghisolfi said Méthalie was "a player we have appreciated and followed for a long time", adding: "Throughout the process, however, he showed a very strong feeling and desire to join Sunderland, which was important to us." At 6ft 2in, Méthalie offers a physical, athletic profile with more attacking thrust than some of Sunderland's other defensive options, and he is comfortable at left-back or further forward as a left wing-back.

For Toulouse, it is a significant loss. Méthalie is a product of the club's academy, having joined as an eight-year-old in 2014 before making his first-team breakthrough last season. Selling their own graduate for a club-record fee softens the financial blow, but Toulouse lose a homegrown talent who had established himself as a regular in Ligue 1 within a year of his debut, and who represents the kind of academy product the club had hoped to build around.

His rise has been rapid. Méthalie made his Ligue 1 debut in August 2025 in a 1-0 win away to Nice, and went on to make 28 league appearances in his breakout campaign, scoring twice, with 31 appearances in all competitions. He has also played for France at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level, scoring twice in four appearances for the Under-21s, and his combination of youth and top-flight experience made him one of the most sought-after full-backs in Ligue 1 this summer.

The deal was not entirely smooth. Sunderland raised concerns over a back problem during Méthalie's medical earlier in the week, prompting him to fly back to France for further tests. Those examinations eased the club's concerns, and the transfer went through on the terms already agreed, rather than being renegotiated or collapsing. BBC Sport's Nick Barnes said at the time: "It's not a deal that's dead. It's a deal that they still want to go through," and so it proved.

Méthalie said joining Sunderland was "an easy decision", citing the club's seventh-place finish last season and their return to European football. "I'm really excited to play in the Premier League and Europa League and to experience that with the Sunderland fans," he said. At Sunderland, he is expected to provide competition and cover for Reinildo on the left of defence, with the versatility to play in either a back four or a back five under head coach Régis Le Bris, giving Sunderland a younger, more attack-minded option on that side as they prepare for a first season back in continental football.

What it does to the model

Méthalie adds a genuine alternative to Reinildo at left wing-back, so Bawler's numbers for Sunderland's left flank will move as he starts working his way into the side. Bawler builds its ratings from what actually happens on the pitch — goals, chances created, chances conceded and who is in the starting XI — so a new arrival only shows up in those numbers once he is actually playing minutes. Toulouse's own ratings will likewise adjust over the coming weeks as they replace a key academy defender.

How this is scored100%
  • Announced by the clubs100

A sourcing score, not a chance of completion: it grades how solid the reporting behind the move is. The stage and the evidence come from the sources listed below; the arithmetic is fixed in code, the same for every deal.

Sources

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