Report: Sunderland Join Juventus and Inter Milan in Race to Sign Defender

The Black Cats haven't abandoned plans to reinforce their backline.

IMAGO / Zoonar

Sunderland have not abandoned the idea of strengthening their defense, and have recently been linked to a target of Juventus and Inter Milan.

The summer had barely begun, and the Black Cats were being linked with various defenders, among them Liverpool’s Joe Gomez (28) or Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers (27).

As weeks passed, these reports lost strength, and Sunderland began moving to reinforce their midfield and attack.

But in recent hours, a center-back has been linked again with the Lads.

Sunderland enter race for Bologna’s Jhon Lucumí, face Juventus and Inter Milan competition

As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, Sunderland have shown interest in signing Colombian center-back Jhon Lucumi (27) from Bologna.

The aforementioned journalist explained in his report that the defender has a release clause that expires this Wednesday, which is why the Lads’ board might try to seek an agreement for the player later.

“Sunderland are interested in Jhon Lucumi, Bologna’s Colombian central defender,” Di Marzio began by stating.

“The player, however, has a release clause that expires on Wednesday 15 July, which is why the English club could decide to find a potential agreement later,” he added.

The defender has also been linked with major Italian clubs like Juventus, Inter Milan, and, more recently, AS Roma.

A few months ago, portal Juve FC reported that Juventus were monitoring Lucumí’s situation, though this trend lost momentum with Thiago Motta’s departure from the Vecchia Signora.

More recently, Sky Sport Italia (h/t Sempre Inter) noted that Roma were ready to join Inter Milan and Atlético Madrid in the race to sign the Colombian center-back, adding that the only difficulty lay in the player’s price, something that could also affect Sunderland.

“However, it would be difficult for the Giallorossi to afford the Colombian’s €28 million release clause,” explained the outlet.

We’ll see if a new update emerges in the coming days, because although the €28 million may sound excessive, according to Di Marzio, the exit clause expires shortly.