Sunderland target Matthew Hoppe was left out of Real Mallorca’s squad this weekend amid transfer speculation, according to Diario de Mallorca.

The Lowdown: Hoppe’s career

During the 2020/21 campaign, the United States international was playing for a struggling Schalke 04 side who had failed to win any of their first 15 Bundesliga games.

This was until the young forward was thrown into the deep end for a league clash against Hoffenheim. Astonishingly, a stunning hat-trick from Hoppe led Schalke to a 4-0 win, resulting in the now 21-year-old becoming an overnight sensation in Germany.

Jurgen Klinsmann said at the time: “Seeing him there today, scoring three goals in probably one of the most difficult moments in Schalke’s history, is just incredible”.

The Latest: Sunderland’s interest and Mallorca snub

Last week, journalist Tom Bogert reported that Middlesbrough had made a $3m (£2.45m) offer to Mallorca for Hoppe, with Sunderland also interested in striking a deal for the youngster.

Following this revelation, Diario de Mallorca have reported that the attacker was left out of the Real Mallorca squad this weekend for their friendly against Napoli, amid the northeast rivals' battle to secure the American’s signature.

The Verdict: Could be attainable

Having made the £3.15m switch to the La Liga outfit last year, Hoppe’s career hasn’t panned out in the way he would have hoped. The 21-year-old made just five appearances in the Spanish top flight last season, totalling a mere 128 minutes on the pitch.

Given that the 21-year-old was the striker who Bayern Munich viewed as being Robert Lewandowski’s long-term replacement less than two years ago, this appears to be a huge fall from grace for the USA international.

Therefore, a move to Sunderland could allow the youngster’s potential to flourish, as he would likely receive regular minutes playing weekly in the Championship, and his omission from Mallorca's weekend squad would appear to indicate that he is very much attainable.