Sunderland and Cardiff City join race for Motherwell player | OneFootball

Championship duo Sunderland and Cardiff City have taken an interest in Motherwell striker Theo Bair, according to HITC.

It seems inevitable that the Black Cats will target more young players this summer after doing so in the past couple of years, investing in young talents who could be sold on for a big profit in the future.

Jack Clarke is just one young player who looks set to make the club a big profit, along with Jobe Bellingham, with both players likely to attract plenty of interest during the upcoming transfer window.

Both players made valuable contributions in the final third for the Wearside club during the 2023/24 campaign and they were much-needed, with the club's forward department failing to impress for much of the season.

With this in mind, it would be a surprise if the Black Cats don't strengthen their forward department this summer, with Bair a potential addition that they could pursue.

Cardiff, meanwhile, can finally ramp up their plans for the summer after managing to tie manager Erol Bulut down to a new contract.

There was previously uncertainty regarding his future, but this situation has now been resolved and he will be keen to bring some promising players to the Welsh capital.

Interest ramps up in Theo Bair

HITC have reported that the Black Cats and the Bluebirds are both keen on the Canada international, who impressed in the Scottish Premiership during the 2023/24 season.

Blackburn Rovers are another team believed to be keen on the player, but Bundesliga outfit St Pauli are the team that are currently at the front of the queue to recruit the striker.

That's a blow for the three British teams mentioned and Bristol City, who are another club that have been linked with him.

Last month, the Daily Mail reported that a deal of around £1m could see Bair leave Fir Park - and clubs may be tempted to secure an agreement with Motherwell considering how lethal he was in front of goal during the 2023/24 campaign.

Sunderland could benefit from having Theo Bair at their disposal

The Black Cats already have some talented forwards at their disposal.

Luis Hemir, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusyn could all be assets for the club in the future, but the former two are still developing and the latter needed time to adapt to life in England.

Bair is another player who may need time to adapt to England, but he already plays in the UK and he should be able to adapt fairly quickly because of this.

At 24, he could still be sold on for a profit, which will be seen as a good thing by the Black Cats' board.

But at the same time, he's old enough and experienced enough to be an asset in the short term on Wearside and that could make him a very good addition.

Considering he doesn't look set to cost too much either, he is a player that owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (pictured above) should be looking to invest in.

It's not as if they would need to cash in on a key player to recruit Bair, so it will be interesting to see whether they ramp up their interest.