SUNDERLAND have missed out on one of their early summer transfer targets, with French midfielder Clement Chantome having opted to remain in Ligue 1 with Rennes.

The Black Cats identified Chantome as a potential target more than 12 months ago, and sent a number of senior scouting delegations to watch the 28-year-old in action last season.

Their prospects of landing him looked to have increased when he turned down the offer of a new deal at his former employers, Bordeaux, and agreed to hold talks with Sunderland officials.

Those talks went well, although it was known that Chantome was also discussing his future with a number of other clubs, which included Everton.

It was initially felt he would prefer a move to England, but having agreed the terms of a three-year deal with Rennes, he was at the French club’s training ground today completing a medical.

“Clement Chantome has passed his medical,” confirmed Rennes boss Christian Gourcuff. “It (the transfer) should be confirmed later today.”

The failure to land Chantome is a blow, although Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce is tracking three or four midfield targets as he looks to remodel his squad ahead of the start of the new season.

With Ola Toivonen having left at the end of his loan deal, and with Seb Larsson also likely to depart after he was a peripheral figure for much of last season, Allardyce is aware of the need to reinforce in the central area.

Ideally, he would like to sign Yann M’Vila on a permanent basis, but initial talks with Russian side Rubin Kazan have failed to result in a breakthrough.

M’Vila has returned to training in Kazan after a visa issue was resolved, and his Russian employers have refused Sunderland’s request to renegotiate a buyout clause that was inserted into the loan deal that saw the French midfielder make 37 Premier League appearances for the Black Cats last season.

That clause has effectively now lapsed, and while Sunderland officials had hoped Kazan would be willing to accept a cut-price offer for a player who has entered the final six months of his current deal, that has not proved to be the case.

Kazan continue to demand a sizeable transfer fee – believed to be around £8m – for the 25-year-old, and if Sunderland are to complete a deal, they will also have to negotiate a compromise over the midfielder’s wages, with M’Vila understood to be earning around £100,000-a-week in Russia.

Meanwhile, Danny Graham has signed a two-year deal with Championship side Blackburn Rovers following his release from the Black Cats.