Sunderland's excessive summer spending looks as if it will continue all across a bumper July.
Already, £67m has been forked out to pick up Enzo Le Fee, Habib Diarra, and Noah Sadiki, and that amount will soon rise as the bold Black Cats put together the finishing touches to secure Chemsdine Talbi from Club Brugge and Simon Adingra from Brighton for an initial fee of £18.5m.
Off the back of firing home seven strikes last season in Belgium, it's fair to say the excitement levels at the Stadium of Light have risen even more as Talbi edges ever closer to calling Wearside his new home while the addition of Adingra, a Premier League-proven star, will no doubt raise the roof.
Yet, Sunderland aren't done here when it comes to adding in gems from Europe down the wings to enhance their attacking personnel, as more statement moves wait in the pipeline.
Chemsdine-Talbi
Sunderland eye up club-record £39m move
The name that immediately springs to mind in this regard is Sassuolo star Armand Lauriente, with Sunderland definitely keen on the idea of adding the sparkling Frenchman to their camp very soon.
Unfortunately, their pursuit of the dynamic left winger has hit some turbulence, as reports suggest that the Regis Le Bris and Co. are a way off Sassuolo's valuation of the 26-year-old at this point, which comes in at around the hefty £26m price range.
Obviously, Sunderland could well bounce back in this race and splash out such a high amount, considering money doesn't seem to be too much of a concern for the newly promoted side this summer, but they might well be better placed to just go all out to land an upgrade on Lauriente instead by signing off on a club-record switch for Kerem Aktürkoğlu to move to Wearside.
kerem-akturkoglu-benfica
Indeed, Turkish journalist Kutlu Akpinar - via his X account - has revealed that the Black Cats are keen on snapping up the pricey Benfica attacker this summer, with a £39m price tag above his head.
This really would be an earth-shuddering statement from Sunderland if a move were pulled off, with Aktürkoğlu performing at the very top of his game for many a season now.
Why Aktürkoğlu would be a big upgrade on Lauriente
Of course, Lauriente is just fresh off a 19-goal season himself for his current employers Sassuolo as Fabio Grosso's men returned to Serie A in style.
On top of that, the £26m attacker has shown he can strut his stuff in both Serie A and Ligue 1 with a high 42 goals and assists coming his way from 133 appearances in these challenging leagues.
Aktürkoğlu's G/A record at Galatasaray/Benfica
Season
24/25
23/24
22/23
21/22
20/21
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Yet, those promising numbers end up paling in comparison with Aktürkoğlu's exploits with the explosive 26-year-old up to a staggering 94 goals and assists himself when plying his trade in both Turkey and Portugal.
Further, he has also managed to muster up an electric 11 goals and assists when competing in Europe's most illustrious competition in the Champions League, with that £39m price tag next to his name not looking quite so steep anymore.
Instead, it could be deemed a far more worthwhile investment to make than trying to chase after Lauriente, with Aktürkoğlu already causing Premier League defences all sorts of headaches when he smashed home this effort versus Manchester United on Europe's grandest stage in 2023.
Hailed as "silky" in approach by data analyst Ben Mattinson at the height of his glittering Galatasaray spell, the time might well be right for the Turkey international to now try and prove himself in another tough European environment in the Premier League.
Benfica's Kerem Akturkoglu in action with FC Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong
He would surely be capable of pushing the likes of Enzo Le Fee and Romaine Mundle to a starting spot down the left, whilst Lauriente might fall victim to fading into the background next to such a proven and dangerous performer.
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