And with the [Black Cats](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/sunderland)' transfer manoeuvring showing no signs of slowing down, the Wearsiders are also involved in talks with Leicester City over a potential £30m deal for forward Abdul Fatawu.
The Black Cats have been tracking Lucumi all summer and had an initial approach for the 27-year-old centre-half, who can also play as a full-back, rejected earlier in the transfer window.
At that stage, Lucumi’s contract featured an active £24m release clause, but Sunderland officials were attempting a negotiate a deal for a lower fee.
A series of discussions failed to result in an agreement, but with the release clause having now expired, the Black Cats hierarchy have returned to the table in an attempt to secure a deal.
Persuading Lucumi to move to the Stadium of Light will not be a problem as the South American is understood to have expressed a desire to move to the Premier League. All the indications earlier in the summer were that agreeing personal terms would not be an issue, and that remains the case.
However, persuading the Bologna hierarchy to sell Lucumi remains a major hurdle, even though the defender has now entered the final year of his contract with the Serie A club and appears to be reluctant to sign a new deal.
Bologna director Claudio Fenucci spelled out his club’s desire to hold on to Lucumi last month, and that position has been strengthened following the departure of another defender, Sam Beukema, to Napoli.
Bologna did not want to lose Lucumi before Beukema left, so they will be even more reluctant to agree a deal that would result in the departure of two key central defenders in the same transfer window.
However, Sunderland’s recruitment team, led by director of football Florent Ghisolfi, feel Lucumi’s contract situation creates an opportunity to try to strike a deal that would enable Bologna to cash in on the Colombian now rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer.
Sunderland have already spent around £135m, plus add-ons, on 12 new players this summer – Nordi Mukiele became the latest addition when his transfer from Paris St Germain was confirmed yesterday – but Regis Le Bris confirmed at the weekend that the club’s transfer business is not yet complete.
The Black Cats are also hoping to recruit another attacking wide player before the window closes at the end of the month, with Leicester forward Fatawu currently their leading target.
Sunderland officials are willing to pay around £30m for the 21-year-old Ghana international, who is comfortable playing on either flank.
Preliminary discussions have taken place with the hierarchy at the King Power Stadium, but Leicester’s ownership group are reluctant to sell Fatawu, who has four years of his current contract still to run.
Fatawu first joined Leicester on loan from Sporting Lisbon, and played a major role in the Foxes’ promotion from the Championship under Enzo Maresca two seasons ago.
He suffered an ACL injury at the start of last season, though, which meant he barely featured as Leicester were relegated back to the second tier.
Having returned to full fitness, he has started the current Championship campaign as a regular under Marti Cifuentes, who has spoken of his desire to hold on to the forward.
Talks remain ongoing, with Sunderland officials hopeful of being able to strike a deal that would complete their attacking transfer business for the summer.
The Black Cats have been searching for a new wide attacker since a proposed deal for Armand Lauriente collapsed earlier this summer. Sunderland had agreed a deal with Sassuolo for Lauriente, but talks broke down last month after the forward travelled to the Wearsiders’ training camp in Portugal to complete his proposed transfer.