Sunderland agree club-record £30m deal for Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra

Sunderland are set to beat Leeds and a host of European clubs to the signing of Habib Diarra from Strasbourg for a club-record £30m as they prepare to return to the Premier League.The Senegal midfielder, who scored in the 3-1 defeat of England at the City Ground this month, is expected on Wearside to complete his medical after Sunderland had an offer worth an initial €31.5m (£27m) offer plus €4m in add-ons accepted.Leeds had also been hoping to bring Diarra to Elland Road and saw a £24m bid rejected last week, while Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt were among the 21-year-old’s other suitors.But with Sunderland having identified Diarra as their preferred option to replace Jobe Bellingham, who has joined Borussia Dortmund for an initial £27.8m, their improved bid was enough to convince Strasbourg – who are owned by BlueCo, the same parent company that owns Chelsea – to accept their offer.It represents something of a coup for the Championship playoff winners as they prepare to return to the Premier League after an eight-year absence, having already signed Enzo Le Fée from Roma after he spent the second half of last season on loan in the north-east. Their Wembley hero Tom Watson has already departed to Brighton for £10m, while they have also explored re-signing Jordan Henderson from Ajax.The fee for Diarra, who was born in Senegal but represented France at under-21 level before making his senior debut for the African country last year, surpasses the £20m they paid for Le Fée. Sunderland are also thought to be interested in the Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, who had stints at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Sassuolo’s French winger Armand Laurienté.