'They don't do anything' - Manager opens up on failed Sunderland summer swoop for star man

SM Caen manager Nicolas Seube has been discussing Sunderland’s failed summer move for striker Alexandre Mendy.

The 30-year-old was linked with a transfer to the Stadium of Light for several weeks, and made no secret of his own desire to join the Black Cats on numerous occasions. Indeed, as recently as September, the centre forward was still struggling to come to terms with the collapsed deal.

In an interview, Mendy said: “No, I’ve not recovered 100 per cent, there are still a few after-effects. The after-effects of what was said, what happened in the past and also everything to do with my family: having packed my bags, having thought about going elsewhere, all those things.

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“That will go away with time, but today I feel good on the pitch. The furniture has gone up but the boxes haven’t been unpacked yet. It’s taking a long time, there are a lot of boxes to unpack. We haven’t got the time yet, we’re concentrating on the football and when there’s the next break we’ll unpack everything.”

Since being reintegrated back into Caen’s plans, however, Mendy has been in sublime form, scoring nine goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, including a strike in Saturday’s 6-0 Coupe de France rout over Union Sportive de Bolbec.

And speaking after that comprehensive victory, Mendy’s current coach once again opened up on the manner in which Sunderland walked away from a prospective deal. In an interview with Actu.fr, Seube said: “They [Sunderland] have big means, which is logical given the amounts of their TV rights. But they don’t do anything with it.

“We saw it with the Alexandre Mendy case, they had set an amount and did not want to exceed it. It’s a club with very large infrastructures, even in the second division. Régis Le Bris welcomed me very well and I was able to participate in everything.”