Sunderland have been credited with an interest in Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno
Sunderland are one of four clubs considering a move for Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno this summer, according to reports.
The left-back spent the season out on loan at Nottingham Forest, but will return to Villa Park having registered 19 appearances across all competitions for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Moreno is entering the final year of his contract with Villa, and as such, could be a candidate for an exit over the coming months, with French outlet Foot Mercato suggesting that Sunderland are among those interested in offering him a new challenge.
What has been said about Sunderland’s interest in Alex Moreno?
According to a fresh report, the Black Cats are one of four clubs keeping tabs on Moreno this summer, with fellow Premier League new boys Burnley also in the running alongside Spanish pair Real Betis and Real Sociedad.
It is stated that Villa would be open to the prospect of a sale, and would demand somewhere in the region of £5.1 million for his services. The Villans paid around £13.2 million to sign Moreno from Real Betis in 2023.
What has Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said about Alex Moreno?
Speaking about Moreno’s strengths last year, Emery said: “Moreno’s best quality is his speed. In the attacking third, he is getting into he box and finding not only crosses, but passes as well – very good.
“Now, what we’ve decided for him – because of his quality I knew before from Spain – I like sometimes the one side using the right or left back higher. We are doing it with the left-back higher than the right-back because to like use Moreno higher and more aggressive in attack.”
The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join ourSAFC WhatsApp channel.
What has been said about Sunderland’s summer transfer plans?
Outlining Sunderland’s plans for the summer transfer window during an interview last week, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: "We're always trying to get the balance right between being prepared for whichever league you might be in and we've tried to do that.
"Naturally as a play-off winning team you're behind where other clubs might be, but we're fast-tracking that and catching up. We're looking to improve and build a team that is capable of staying in the Premier League, I think the objective is fairly clear.
“Everyone will point to the statistics as to how difficult it is to stay in the Premier League and we're fully aware of that, we're not naive. Our strategy in getting to the Premier League and the solutions we needed, to the ones we need to stay there, will be different. That's work we're doing at the minute but ultimately, we're going to stick to our values. We need to have a team that the community and city is proud of, we've build that in the current team and we have to have that in the Premier League.
"When we came to the club we had a multi-year strategy about how we'd able to get back to the Premier League, and it's about continuing that way of thinking. We're going to make decisions that are in the best interests of the club to try and retain our position in the Premier League, while also making decisions that don't negatively impact the club in the long term. I think we've seen before at Sunderland that if you don't consider those factors, how negative that can be in the long term. I don't think it's necessarily anything different in terms of our principles, but there are clearly key decisions coming up around making sure we have a squad capable of achieving our objective of staying up."
Continue Reading