Gambia Under-20 international Alieu Darbo claims he is close to penning a deal with Premier League strugglers Wigan.
Winger currently recovering from knee injury
Gambia Under-20 international Alieu Darbo claims he is close to penning a deal with Premier League strugglers Wigan.
Darbo is expected to sign on a free transfer at the DW Stadium after being released from his contract at Ligue 2 club Le Mans in January.
Darbo, who represented Sweden at a number of age-group levels before featuring for Gambia, was the subject of a transfer battle between Le Mans and Nice before he decided joining Le Mans in 2009.
However, the 19-year-old was released from his contract with MUC 72 at the turn of the year and has since been linked with several English clubs.
Agreement
The winger spent time at Sunderland's Academy of Light training ground and claims that he turned down the opportunity to join Martin O'Neill's side in favour of the Latics.
"I have a verbal agreement with Wigan," Darbo told
Sportbladet.
"At the moment I have a problem with my knee and must do some rehab work to get myself fit. Then, hopefully, in about two weeks time, I will go to Wigan and sign a contract with them.
"They (Sunderland) wanted to offer me a contract, but because of the reception I received at Wigan, which I never got anywhere else, I decided to pick them. Everything felt right for me."
