Mike McGrath and Sam Dean reported for The Telegraph earlier this week that Mason Cotcher was set to undergo a medical at Aston Villa on Friday ahead of a transfer from Sunderland.
The two clubs had reportedly agreed on a package for Cotcher, with the formalities of the deal to be finalised over the weekend.
Fabrizio Romano then reported on Friday that Cotcher was set to sign a contract to June 2027 that same day, with the deal agreed.
Early in the 2023/24 campaign, 17-year-old Cotcher looked to be in line for a move to Arsenal, spending time on trial with the Gunners.
The trial began in late October, with Cotcher making an unexpected appearance for the Arsenal u18s against Middlesbrough in the u18 Premier League Cup.
As the trial progressed, Cotcher got a chance to feature in a couple of u18 Premier League games, scoring once and assisting once in his two starts against Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
Before the end of November, Cotcher had also spent time training with the Arsenal first team. But that month in north London didn’t lead to a contract with the club.
Instead, Cotcher spent time with Manchester United in January, playing against Leeds United, before having a go with Leeds themselves.
Cotcher scored a couple of goals for the Leeds u18s and played 45 minutes for their u21s, then held a trial with Ipswich Town.
It might be surprising to see a player playing on trial with so many different clubs, particularly given he seems to have done quite well with a few of them.
But the problem was that Cotcher’s former side Sunderland were owed a compensation fee, which would have gone to a tribunal if the signing club couldn’t agree a fair payment.
It seems the forward has finally found the right club to meet Sunderland’s terms.
