Sunderland sign Nilson Angulo - Deal for Anderlecht star takes spending past €200m

Sunderland have taken their spending this season past €200 million with the deadline-day capture of Anderlecht winger Nilson Angulo. The Black Cats have dug deep into their pockets to bring in the Ecuador international, spending around €20.3 million including add-ons, their largest deal on transfer deadline day. The 22-year-old has won 12 caps for his country, scoring one goal, and is a team-mate of fellow Premier League stars such as Moisés Caicedo and Piero Hincapié.

Angulo has been in impressive form for the Belgian side this term, bagging six goals and providing seven assists in 22 outings in the Jupiler Pro League. Having come through the academy system at LDU Quito, he joined Anderlecht in July 2022 for €1.9 million when he was only 18 years old.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman hailed the signing and said he was 'delighted' to get the deal over the line, as the Wearside outfit's total expenditure rises to €212.3 million: “Nilson is an incredibly exciting prospect, and we are delighted he’s chosen to join Sunderland," he said.

"A quick and creative wide player, he excels in all the core actions required to impact the final third, and he arrives ambitious to make an impression. He’s young but has already had many interesting experiences as a senior player domestically, on the European stage, and internationally with Ecuador.”

Régis Le Bris will be happy to bring in Angulo after Simon Adingra, who only joined the club from Brighton in the summer transfer window, departed for AS Monaco. The Nigerian had struggled to lock down a regular place in their squad this season, making only 14 Premier League appearances and scoring one goal. His last appearance came in the 3-0 defeat to Brentford on January 7.