Real Madrid ‘have received’ £12.9m Sunderland bid for Thiago Pitarch, but doubts remain | OneFootball

Fichajes reports that Sunderland have lodged a bid of around €15m, roughly £12.9m, for Real Madrid prospect Thiago Pitarch, though the credibility of the claim is in doubt.

It is claimed Sunderland are the most determined of several clubs tracking the midfielder and believe he could become central to a long-term project.

Suggestions are that the Black Cats monitored Pitarch for weeks before formalising interest with a concrete proposal. A fee of about €15m would be a sizeable outlay for a player at the start of his professional career, and he is viewed as having significant international potential.

However, the accuracy appears highly doubtful. The outlet has a record of speculative Sunderland links that later proved unfounded, including mooted moves for Real Madrid forward Endrick last winter and Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez.

As things stand, while Sunderland continue to assess options to strengthen, this claim should be treated with caution. There is no indication from more reliable sources that a move for Pitarch is under serious consideration.

Source: Sunderland Echo