Sunderland accept Palace bid for defender Van Aanholt

REUTERS - Sunderland have accepted a bid for Patrick van Aanholt from Premier League relegation rivals Crystal Palace after the left back submitted a transfer request.

No financial details of the transfer were released, though local media reported Palace had paid 14 million pounds ($17.58 million) to lure Van Aanholt to Selhurst Park.

"If a player openly states he does not want to play for our club, then it is clear that we have a decision to make," Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain said in a statement.

"In this instance and in regard to this particular player, we have done what we feel is right for Sunderland, which will always be our priority."

Van Aanholt will be re-united with Palace's Sam Allardyce, having previously worked with the manager at Sunderland.

"Van Aanholt is having a medical here today. He's in the process, at the moment," Allardyce told reporters on Friday.

Palace are 18th in the league table with 16 points, one more than bottom-placed Sunderland after 22 games.

($1 = 0.7963 pounds)

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru)