Sunderland Preparing ‘Official Bid’ For Aston Villa And Tottenham Linked Defender | OneFootball

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Sunderland are ‘preparing an opening official bid’ for Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur linked defender Jhon Lucumi, despite Bologna’s desire to keep hold of him.

The Black Cats have been on a spending spree which has caught the eye this summer, even being remarked upon in Germany.

As many as five players have arrived through the Stadium of Light door and the club’s transfer spending has gone through the roof on quite a few of those acquisitions.

For now, Habib Diarra is their most expensive signing, with in the region of £30m being spent to get him from Strasbourg.

Sunderland have now turned their attention to Italy, where they have zeroed in on Bologna’s 27-year-old defender, a player already interesting Premier League sides.

Aston Villa, who want a centre-back, hold an interest in Lucumi, while Tottenham are also admirers and may need a new centre-back if Cristian Romero goes.

Lucumi has been in Serie A since 2022 and has managed 109 appearances for Bologna, 15 of which have come in European competition.

Now, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Sunderland are preparing an official opening bid for the defender.

They have established contact with the Italian club in the last 24 hours and want to test Bologna’s resolve to keep hold of him.

The Rossoblu want to keep hold of Lucumi for now but with less than 12 months left on his contract, their stance could change if a lucrative offer is made.

Lucumi also boasts of international experience, having played 29 games for Colombia.

If Sunderland do manage to have a bid accepted by Bologna, it remains to be seen if that might then spark either Aston Villa or Tottenham into life in the chase.