‘Sunderland Are Very Serious’ About Star As Club Seek To ‘Repair The Budget’ | OneFootball

A flying start to the season from Regis Le Bris’ men has come to a halt, as they are winless in their last three Premier League games, with the most recent outing ending with a 1-0 defeat against Fulham.

The Black Cats boss is aware that his team will need to strengthen certain areas on the pitch in the winter transfer window, especially as a host of players will head to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Le Bris wants to add more experience in midfield, repeating the trick he feels worked so well with the addition of Granit Xhaka, and for that he wants to bring in his former student from Lazio in Guendouzi.

Sunderland tried to sign Guendouzi in the summer transfer window, but Lazio managed to keep hold of the former Arsenal star.

Ahead of Fulham at the weekend, Le Bris admitted that he is still in touch with Guendouzi, but accepted that the Frenchman could find it difficult to get into the starting lineup due to the quality of the squad.

It has been suggested that the Italian outfit could consider letting the French midfielder leave during the upcoming window if they receive a bid around €30m, as they seek to ease financial concerns.

In a further sign that Lazio will have to deal with an approach, according to Italian daily Il Messaggero, ‘Sunderland are very serious’ about signing Guendouzi.

Guendouzi worked with Le Bris when he was at Lorient in the early stages of his career.

It is suggested that offers for Guendouzi ‘would be welcomed’ by Lazio, as they look to raise cash.

Lazio need to ‘repair the budget’ and avoid falling foul of financial rules.

Offloading Guendouzi could be a solution for the Serie A side, who will also listen to proposals for Gustav Isaksen and Taty Castellanos.

If Sunderland want to get a deal done for the start of the winter transfer window, they will soon need to put in the legwork to set it up.