Sunderland's Trai Hume (Image: PA)
Sunderland's Trai Hume (Image: PA)
SUNDERLAND have no intention of allowing Trai Hume to leave ahead of next Tuesday's transfer deadline amid fresh reports of interest from Everton.
The Toffees are prioritising the signing of a right-back in the final days of the window and reports emerged on Thursday morning claiming Hume has been identified as a target.
But the Black Cats have no desire to see Hume move on.
The 24-year-old featured in every single Premier League game for Regis Le Bris' side last season and will again play a hugely important role this term.
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As well as his obvious quality, Le Bris values Hume's versatility. The Northern Ireland international is comfortable playing on either side of the defence or further forward on the right side of midfield, which is where he started at Ipswich last weekend.
Sunderland are working on deals as they look to strengthen on the flank ahead of Tuesday's deadline but Hume will still have a pivotal role to play this season. Florent Ghisolfi said at the start of the summer that Sunderland have no intention of losing any of their starting players.
Signing a right-back has been a priority for Everton throughout the summer and boss David Moyes reiterated the need for new recruits after watching his side beat Preston in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Moyes said: "We definitely need to continue to make additions, that's for sure.
"We thought the squad was quite thin last year, and at the moment, if you take the way the numbers work, we are still one down from where we were even last year.
"I still think we are short in the squad and I still think we are short in quality in some places and I need to try and add that."
Hume enjoyed an impressive pre-season for the Black Cats after scoring in the final day win over Chelsea last term that secured Europa League football on Wearside.
Le Bris said of Hume that day: "Often we try to analyse the players with a technical lens, but it's more than that. It's about connection, hard work, connection between players and balance.
"Trai is a good example of a really good player, a strong team-mate, always working hard for the team."