An ambitious triple swoop worth more than £40m has been suggested as Sunderland’s primary focus ahead of the Premier League season.
The Black Cats’ sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head of scouting Stuart Harvey are reportedly exploring deals for Vladyslav Vanat, Matthis Abline and Lennon Miller.
The Wearsiders are ready to back head coach Regis Le Bris in the transfer market to bring in high level targets to bolster a squad that has no Premier League experience.
The side that celebrated promotion at Wembley will be much-changed and Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson have already been high-profile departures.
According to reports in Ukraine, Sunderland are now regarded as the “main favourites” to sign Dynamo Kyiv striker Vladyslav Vanat – despite competition from Leeds United, Fulham and Everton. Vanat was top scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League with 21 goals.
At 23, he’s a good age and fits the Sunderland profile with the Speakman and his colleagues reportedly considering a bid of close to £17m.
Ukrainian outlet Champion claims that Sunderland have moved ahead of their rivals in the race for the forward’s signature – though it remains unclear whether the club will match Dynamo’s asking price.
Vanat is currently away with Ukraine’s U21s, meaning any formal approach is likely to come after the U21 European Championships.
Reports via SportsBoom suggest Sunderland are ‘quietly confident’ of winning the race for Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller – despite rival interest from Celtic, Rangers and clubs in Europe.
The 18-year-old made his first start for Scotland this week in a 4-0 win over Liechtenstein and is widely regarded as one of the top emerging talents in the UK.
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