Sunderland's transfer window has been the biggest in the club's history. After an unexpectedly long stint out of the Premier League, manager Régis Le Bris has been backed to ensure that they stay there.
The club have made roughly £36.8 million from the sales of Jobe Bellingham and Tom Watson to Borussia Dortmund and Brighton respectively, which has added a boost to their transfer budget.
Most of the new arrivals at the Stadium of Light have been attacking or midfield players, and the squad is yet to reinforce their defence, which was the fourth-best in the Championship last season. However, the Black Cats are now looking to change that in a big way and go all out on an up-and-coming talent.
Sunderland scouting Italian star Comuzzo
Pietro Comuzzo-1
Reports from Italy, via Sports Witness, have revealed that Sunderland are among a number of English teams who have been scouting Italian centre-back Pietro Comuzzo. Comuzzo's club, Fiorentina, have spent part of their pre-season in the UK, where Black Cats scouts checked on him in person.
Sports Witness shared a recent interview where Comuzzo stated he was happy at his current club and wasn't currently looking to move. However, during the transfer window, things can change quickly. If Le Bris could convince Comuzzo of the project, then it's reported that Fiorentina would be willing to part ways with the player for £34.5 million, which would see the Black Cats once again smash their previous transfer record by £7.5 million.
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Comuzzo will be in the UK this weekend as Fiorentina face Manchester United at Old Trafford in a pre-season friendly. Early reports had indicated that United were another one of the teams to have taken an interest in the centre-back, but after several big-money signings and other positions yet to fill, they seem unlikely candidates.
Sports Witness's Kaustubh Pandey concluded that the stories currently circulating about Comuzzo could be an attempt to increase his value and sell him at a later date. In which case, this could end up being a long-term Sunderland target that they use to solidify their place in the Premier League if they stay up this season.
Why Comuzzo is so highly rated
Comuzzo is a name that fans will hear a lot of in the coming years, and there are a few reasons why he is seen as such a prodigy. When compared to centre-backs of a similar age who featured in the Premier League last season, fans can see his uniqueness.
|Defensive Actions Last Season|
|Comuzzo|Khusanov|Huijsen|
|---|
|Tackles in Defensive 3rd Per 90|1.19|0.79|0.7|
|Long Pass Completion|69%|56.3%|59.5%|
|Attempted Tackles on Dribblers Per 90|1.19|0.85|1.07|
|Success Rate of Tackles on Dribblers|79.3%|64.3%|62.1%|
|Stats from: FBREF|
Abdukodir Khusanov and Dean Huijsen have both recently received big transfers, with the former joining Manchester City in January and the latter joining Real Madrid this summer, but in many regards, Comuzzo is better than both.
An issue that many defenders find when joining the Premier League is that the pace of the wingers is too much for them. However, this is where Comuzzo specialises, as not only does he attempt more tackles on dribbling players than average, he also has a higher success rate with them.
Comuzzo's ability to accurately play a long ball is also unique. Not only does it get the team out of danger defensively, but it can also help the team up the pitch offensively. Many of the newly promoted teams find themselves camped in their own third as the bigger Premier League sides attack them. Comuzzo would help avoid this with the combination of his ability to win back the ball and then progressively play it out once he has done so.
All of these attributes make Comuzzo an ideal player for the Premier League and particularly one further down the table. If Sunderland don't push for him this summer, their chance of signing him may disappear, because it's only a matter of time before someone snaps him up.