"£8 million" - Sunderland face summer decision as Aston Villa, Leeds and Leicester circle | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

A host of clubs are circling Sunderland defender Trai Hume ahead of the summer.

That is according to the Belfast Telegraph, who report that the Northern Irish international is a transfer target for as many as five clubs at present.

Trai Hume latest transfer news

According to their report, two of those clubs come from the Premier League, with Aston Villa and AFC Bournemouth eyeing up the 22-year-old ahead of the summer.

Some of Sunderland's fellow Championship rivals are also said to be keen, with Leeds United and Leicester City.

Interestingly, Serie A side Napoli are the fifth side to be credited with an interest in Hume.

All of the above comes after Hume has appeared 40 times in the Championship for the Black Cats this season - all of their current league matches.

Sunderland face battle to keep hold of Hume

With the above links in mind, it begs the question as to whether or not Sunderland should be looking to sell Hume this summer, and if so, what transfer fee they should be looking for?

Some of our FLW writers have discussed those issues below.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

Sunderland should not be actively looking to sell Trai Hume this summer.

The 22-year-old has been consistent and reliable for the Black Cats this season, and has proved to be an excellent player for the club.

However, with five teams credited with an interest in his signature, Sunderland may well be resigned to losing him regardless of their own wishes.

If that is the case, the key thing for the club is securing a big transfer fee for his signature, and one that nets them a profit.

That shouldn't be too difficult given they paid just £200,000 for him from Linfield in January 2022.

In terms of a fee, with five clubs, including three Premier League sides keen, Sunderland will hope for a bidding war, and should be holding out for at least £8 million.

With Hume contracted to the club until 2027, they are in a strong position to do that.

Ned Holmes

Sunderland may only have reportedly paid in the region of £200,000 to sign Trai Hume but they should be demanding a big fee to let him leave this summer.

With Jack Clarke surely set to be sold for north of £15 million and perhaps even £20 million, there is going to be plenty of cash hitting their accounts in the upcoming window.

That, coupled with the fact that Hume is still just 22, has a contract that runs until 2027, and is attracting attention from three Premier League clubs and two Championship sides that may well be playing top flight football next term, means the Black Cats are in a very strong negotiating position.

The ideal situation would be to hold off any advances with the mindset that Hume will only become more valuable as he continues to develop but all players have their price and the offer of a move to the top tier may well be too much for the defender to turn down.

The Northern Irishman has been hugely impressive again this term and has shown versatility during his time at the Stadium of Light so if they're forced to cash in, you have to think Sunderland will look for more than £5 million for the defender and perhaps even eight figures with add-ons.

That number would be even higher if Hume had proven himself a more consistent contributor in the final third but that may well come as he continues to develop.