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July 14, 2026 Updated 5:37 am EDT
Sunderland are set to complete the free agent signing of Thomas Meunier following his departure from Lille.
The 34-year-old defender is set to join the club on a two-year deal.
He arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday morning to undergo a medical and is expected to sign shortly.
Meunier was part of the Belgium squad at this summer’s World Cup, featuring three times at the tournament before they exited in the quarter-finals to Spain.
The right-back has been capped 83 times at international level since his senior debut in 2013 and was part of the Belgium side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
Meunier exited Lille this summer following two years at the club, in which time he made 81 appearances, providing four goals and four assists. He featured 35 times in all competitions last season.
He joined the Ligue 1 side from Trabzonspor, having previously spent four years at Borussia Dortmund and four years at Paris Saint-Germain. He won three Ligue 1 titles with the latter.
Sunderland finished seventh in the Premier League last season to qualify for Europe following their promotion from the Championship the previous campaign.
Captain Granit Xhaka attracted interest from Chelsea earlier this summer, with the west London club having an £8million (€9.2m, $10.5m) offer for the Switzerland international rejected. Following discussions, Xhaka committed his future to Sunderland and is expected to remain at the club this summer.
Jul 14, 2026
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