‘On His List’ – Boss Instantly Wants Sunderland Target After Taking New Job | OneFootball

Sunderland are facing competition for key defensive target Jhon Lucumi, who is wanted by the new boss of Turkish giants Besiktas, even though he is not keen on a switch to Turkey.

Admiration for the Colombian at the Stadium of Light dates back to last summer, when he emerged as a priority target for Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris.

Bologna, however, stood firm in their determination to retain the centre-back and ultimately succeeded in keeping him in Italy for a further year.

The Black Cats returned with fresh interest in January in an effort to finally land their long-term target, but the Rossoblu once again refused to sanction his departure before the end of the season.

Lucumi is now entering the final year of his contract and he will decide his future after holding discussions with his family during the summer transfer window.

Sunderland remain keen to seize what they view as a significant opportunity to finally bring the defender to the Stadium of Light, while Bologna are already looking at Brazilian defender Viery as a potential successor.

The Black Cats do have fresh competition now though as, according to Turkish journalist Ertan Suzgun, Besiktas’ newly-appointed boss Vincenzo Italiano has Lucumi ‘on his list’.

The Italian tactician worked closely with Lucumi during his two-year spell at Bologna, where the centre-back established himself as a regular starter, and is now eager to reunite with him in Turkey.

Sunderland though may be able to rest easy as it is suggested that, at least for the moment, Lucumi ‘is not considering Turkey’ as his next destination.

Besiktas’ hopes of landing Lucumi would appear to rest on whether Italiano can convince the Colombia international to reconsider his view of moving to Turkey.

Whether Italiano can persuade Lucumi to alter his stance remains to be seen, but Sunderland still appear to be in a strong position if they do press ahead with their interest.

Any final decision is unlikely to arrive immediately, with Lucumi currently focused on helping Colombia make an impact on football’s biggest stage at the World Cup.