League One Sunderland have let Williams Kokolo go to Middlesbrough but he’s also got admirers from the Bundesliga, the Premier League and Serie A.
Bayern Munich and West Ham United have showed interest in Williams Kokolo, the left-back who left Sunderland to join bitter rivals Middlesbrough recently, according to the Mirror (20 March, page 53).
Considering that the Black Cats are not exactly overloaded with options on the left-hand side of their defence, the decision to let a highly-rated 19-year-old walk away from the Stadium of Light might not age all that well.
Kokolo was told that he would not be given the chance to extend a contract that was due to expire this summer and, earlier this month, the teenager was unveiled by a new club – Sunderland’s north east neighbours Boro.
But, if reports are to be believed, Bayern Munich and Napoli are big admirers of the fresh-faced Frenchman too. West Ham were keen as well with David Moyes apparently interested in raiding the club he coached with little success from 2016 to 2017.
Former Monaco youngster Kokolo will now be hoping to force his way into the first-team plans at Middlesbrough and, given that head coach Jonathan Woodgate has shown plenty of faith in youth since taking over from Tony Pulis, he might be in luck.
Hayden Coulson, Dael Fry, Ashley Fletcher and Ainsley Pears have all impressed under Woodgate in recent months, though the youngster will have to fight off competition from Coulson and George Friend for a left-back berth.
Yet, considering that Kokolo has admirers at Bayern and Napoli, this could prove to be a rather substantial coup for a struggling Championship side.
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