Sunderland Prepares Key Move to Strengthen Defense in 2026

The rollercoaster of the Premier League season has driven Sunderland's pursuit of a Serie A defender to strengthen Regis Le Bris' squad.

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The recent results of Sunderland have been with ups and downs against the big opponents they have faced, since the visit to Liverpool at Anfield caused a competitive 1-1.

Meanwhile, their visit to the Etihad ended in a negative 0-3 defeat. Remaining in position 9 of the Premier League. Even though they have not dropped out of the top 10, being a very positive campaign before finishing 2026, they want to keep working on the future of the team.

Because of that, Sunderland Echo has made clear that Sunderland's interest in a central defender who competes in Italy keeps growing more and more, and if it is not possible to obtain him in January, they will go for him for the 26/27 season.

Sunderland Maintains Interest in Colombian Defender Jhon Lucumi

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The team led by Regis Le Bris is following closely Jhon Lucumi, the Bologna player continues to be a strong presence in Italian football with his defensive performance. Sunderland Echo confirmed that Black Cats will continue competing to sign the Colombian either in January or June 2026.

The complications in the signing would occur because the Italian club wants Lucumi's renewal at all costs. His defensive performance leads to this interest, and the sporting director of Bologna, Giovanni Sartori, has declared:

We are talking with Lucumi about the possibility of extending his contract and we would love for him to stay. If he would be happy, I do not know; that should be asked to him. We will see later and see what he decides. After having to give up his dream of the Premier League in summer, he returned with great professionalism. I hope we do not have to do too much in the January transfer market, considering the quality of the squad.

Giovanni Sartori

Jhon Lucumi has a contract until June 2027, and if there is no positive renewal with Bologna, Sunderland could go fully for the Colombian.

According to Transfermarkt, the market value of the player is €25M, so the team of Regis Le Bris will have to approach that figure if they want to obtain the player for the project of the French coach looking toward the future of competing in the Premier League.

The interest is increasing more and more, and they do not plan to give up easily, since he is one of the main priorities of Sunderland.