Sunderland lodge bid to sign ‘one of the best LW’s out there’

Sunderland’s squad is really starting to take shape now ahead of their first Premier League showdown with West Ham United next month.

Indeed, at the time of writing, Enzo Le Fee, Habib Diarra, and Noah Sadiki have all joined Regis Le Bris’ camp in rapid-fire fashion, with the next expected arrival through the door coming in the form of promising Club Brugge attacker Chemsdine Talbi for a weighty £19.8m.

Sunderland’s breakneck pace in the summer transfer window won’t be slowing down here, you imagine, as more and more new faces are tipped to join the exciting Black Cats ride up to the top flight.

Sunderland lodge bid for next summer signing

The central midfield department certainly looks well stocked on Wearside, as plenty of attackers now begin to be linked to the Stadium of Light to boost numbers all over the pitch, away from just Talbi strengthening their options down the right channel.

Both Gonzalo Garcia and Luiz Suarez have been on the Sunderland radar from Real Madrid and Almeria, respectively, as Le Bris looks to enhance the Black Cats’ firepower up top. Still, with Garcia reportedly content to stick it out in Spain, and with Suarez on the Sporting shopping list, it might well be a tough battle ahead to tempt either promising striker to England.

It could well be an equally testing endeavour to try and pick up Sassuolo ace Armand Lauriente this summer. However, it is stated that Sunderland still holds a concrete interest in snapping up the entertaining Frenchman, according to journalist Gianluigi Longari.

Further reports from Italy have also suggested that the Black Cats have seen a first offer rejected for the forward, with the Italian outfit holding out for more than €30m (£25m) plus bonus. The player himself is said to be pushing to leave.

If Sunderland were ultimately successful in this race to land the explosive 26-year-old, they could be about to win Le Bris his next Le Fee, as another exciting talent from Europe down the left flank prepares to wreak havoc on Wearside.

Wju Lauriente can be Le Bris’ next Le Fee

Sunderland’s strategy in the chaotic summer window so far seems to centre on them plucking gems from the European leagues, hopeful that they go on to be as instantly successful as Le Fee was on English shores.

Le Fee was a very bright spark for the Black Cats in their moment of need last season, as seen in the former Lorient midfielder collecting two assists in the tense playoff semi-final matches to secure his team a triumphant trip to Wembley.

Lauriente will hope he can translate his Sassuolo magic to the English game very shortly too, with the stylish winger spearheading his own promotion charge last season as Fabio Grosso’s men returned to Serie A at the first time of asking.

Their similarities don’t end there as Le Bris gears up to potentially welcome his next Le Fee to his ever-growing camp, with Lauriente well-versed in what it takes to be a star at a top level, having collected a mightily impressive tally of 42 goals and assists plying his trade in both Ligue 1 and Serie A. His compatriot, before embarking on a fresh challenge on Wearside, lags behind on 21 goals and assists in both those top divisions.

Lauriente’s G/A record by club
Club played for	Games played	Goals scored	Assists
Sassuolo	102	31	18
Lorient	91	13	14
US Orleans	17	3	1
Rennes	2	0	0
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Staggeringly, Lauriente might well go on to be an even bigger star than Le Fee when judging those numbers, with the Sassuolo number 45 no doubt ready to push the 25-year-old for a starting spot down the left flank. It’s no wonder that analyst Ben Mattinson has described him as “one of the best left-wing options out there”.

Having been lauded as an “amazing” performer to watch in the past by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, too, picking up Lauriente might well have the same impact Le Fee’s arrival did in boosting the Black Cats’ chances of being a success.