Armand Lauriente’s agent on failed Sunderland move: “The manager was pushing to have him” | OneFootball

Newly promoted Serie A side Sassuolo had come close to selling Armand Lauriente to Sunderland two weeks ago but the move fell through, even though the player had flown to the Black Cats’ pre-season training in Portugal.

Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali has previously taken a shot at those around Lauriente, blaming them for the transfer falling through.

Now, the winger’s agent Roberto Meloni has spoken to Stile TV about the situation of the Frenchman, revealing that a move to Napoli would be great for the player.

He said, via AreaNapoli: “Napoli? We’ll see what happens. It’s a big club and we like it , but we need to understand what happens in the next few days.

“Napoli were interested in Ndoye, but now they’ve gone their separate ways, so we’ll see what happens. An agreement was certainly reached with Sunderland for Armand (€20 million), lower than the figure that was being discussed for Ndoye , but now the cards have been reshuffled. He’s a very valuable player based on what he’s shown, and Sassuolo will ask for their fair share, so there are many aspects to evaluate.”

Speaking further about the player’s future, Meloni stated that Sunderland manager Regis le Bris was keen to have Lauriente in the side, having managed him at Lorient.

“It’s true that in today’s football, money is important for the players and everyone involved in negotiations, but Armand isn’t someone who looks solely at the money, and he proved it by putting himself on the line in Serie B. He’s very much into the human and sporting side. At Sunderland, the manager was pushing to have him because he knew him from his time at Rennes and wanted to work with him.”

The winger has impressed in his time at Sassuolo and over the last two days, he has been linked with a move to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. Bologna and Roma have also been linked with him, as Lauriente’s future remains uncertain.

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN