Sunderland opt out of permanent Edouard Michut transfer deal

Sunderland have made some exciting signings in the last two years since their recruitment structure changed under owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, and a regular source of incomings has been from his home country of France.

The likes of Abdoullah Ba and Isaac Lihadji have arrived with the scope to be first-team regulars in the future, with Ba playing a key part in some matches already, but perhaps the most exciting signing of the lot back in August was Edouard Michut.

With eight appearances under his belt for French giants Paris Saint-Germain, Michut was arriving at Sunderland with experience of being around world class players, and whilst it didn’t always happen perfectly for him this past season he still featured 28 times.

What is the latest on Edouard Michut’s Sunderland future?

Sunderland of course held the option to make Michut’s move a permanent one this summer should they have wished to for a fee of around £2.5 million, and following their play-off defeat to Luton no decision had been made.

Doubts emerged though last week when it was widely reported that fellow young midfielder Jobe Bellingham was on the way in at the Stadium of Light for a similar fee – would Sunderland really pay around £5.5 million for two youngsters who play in similar areas of the pitch?

Well we now know the answer to that question as according to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, the Wearsiders will not be activating their option to sign Michut on a permanent basis, although it is claimed that it’s Michut himself who has decided he wants to return to PSG to assess his options.

And it appears he will have plenty as Sky Sports say that Fulham are among the 20-year-old’s admirers following his performances for Sunderland, so PSG could still potentially cash in on the central midfielder this summer.

Have Sunderland made the right decision on Edouard Michut?

If Sunderland have not triggered their option because Michut wants to return to PSG for the time being, then that is fair game.

There was no certainty that Michut would agree personal terms should Sunderland trigger their permanent option so they perhaps thought there was no point in trying to negotiate with a player who did not want to stay long-term.

At the later stage of the 2022-23 season, Michut wasn’t starting every match either due to the emergence of Pierre Ekwah, so Sunderland look covered in terms of young talents in the engine room for now.

The money that could’ve been spent on Michut can now be relocated elsewhere for Tony Mowbray and that has to be seen as a positive as he looks to strengthen his squad in other areas this summer.