SUNDERLAND are closing in on a deal for Barnsley midfielder Callum Styles, with further talks expected to take place in the next 24 hours.

Styles, who is a Bury-born Hungary international, is a versatile midfielder who has emerged as the Black Cats’ leading option to supplement their options at the heart of the field.

Sunderland’s recruitment team have been discussing a loan move for the 23-year-old, with a view to a potential permanent transfer at the end of the season.

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With talks having progressed since the weekend, Styles was left out of Barnsley’s squad for last night’s 1-0 win at Oxford United, with the Robins’ manager, Neill Collins, confirming after the game that a potential transfer was imminent.

“The club are in negotiations with another club,” confirmed Collins, who was a defender with Sunderland during his playing career.

Born in England to Hungarian grandparents, hence his international career with Hungary, Styles was a youth player in Burnley’s academy but joined Bury after his release from the Clarets.

He joined Barnsley for £500,000 in the summer of 2018 and has subsequently made 145 senior appearances for the Oakwell club.

He spent last season on loan at Millwall, helping the Championship club push towards a play-off place in the top half of the table.

A player who has filled a number of different midfield positions, Styles tends to play in a central area, covering defensive spaces as well as looking to push forward to join in attacks.

He has scored three goals in 20 League One appearances this season, and started Hungary’s Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Montenegro in November.

Sunderland have been short of a central midfielder all season with Corry Evans having been ruled out of the entire campaign after damaging his cruciate ligaments.

Both Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale have been forced to play Dan Neil alongside Pierre Ekwah in pretty much every game, with Jobe Bellingham the only real alternative for the central-midfield slots.