Sunderland are said to have begun negotiations with Le Havre , who are believed to have slapped a €5million price tag on the 19-year-old midfielder.
El-Hadji Ba: "To be honest, I am flattered by my name being mentioned with clubs such as Sunderland and Dortmund.
"Nothing has been decided yet, but Le Havre will be the one to decide if they still want to keep me at the club."