Sunderland have reportedly decided against pursuing a transfer agreement for Leicester City winger Abdul Fatawu
The Black Cats are understood to have submitted a bid for the winger earlier this week, with the club keen to bolster their options in wide areas ahead of next month’s transfer deadline.
But according to online outlet Football Insider, Leicester’s lofty valuation of Fatawu could ultimately put pay to any hopes of luring him to the Stadium of Light in the coming days. It is claimed that the Foxes are demanding around £30 million for their asset, and as such, Sunderland have opted against furthering their interest in the Ghanaian international.
Instead, Football Insider suggest that the Black Cats are now considering other attacking options, including Red Bull Salzburg forward Adam Daghim, who is supposedly valued at around £11.2 million by his current employers. The 19-year-old is a Danish youth international who registered six goals and five assists across 47 outings for the Austrian outfit last season.
Football Insider’s latest claim follows on from similar reports from the BBC, who had suggested that Sunderland were unsure about continuing their pursuit of Fatawu due to concerns over his price tag. The national outlet stated earlier in the week that Leicester do not want to sell the 21-year-old, as well as suggesting that their position could be strengthened if Bilal El-Khanouss joins Crystal Palace. The Moroccan has previously been of interest to Sunderland this summer, but is emerging as a potential replacement should Palace sanction Eberechi Eze’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.
The BBC also mention Daghim as a possible alternative to Fatawu on Wearside. It is worth noting that the teenager primarily operates as a centre forward, but played a lot of his football off the right wing for Salzburg last term, and has featured out on the left on several occasions earlier in his career.
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What Kristjaan Speakman has said about Sunderland’s transfer plans
Speaking to Football Focus before Sunderland's win over West Ham on Saturday, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said the club would remain active in the transfer market right up until the transfer deadline on September 1st.
“It is a process all the way through to the end of the month," he said. "I mean, we're trying to build the best squad for the Premier League that we can do. We think we've had a really good start at that. Obviously, today will be a good test for us, the first game, but we'll be working away through to deadline day to try to make sure that the team is the right team and the squad is the right squad.
“Fans will be excited, obviously keen to see the new faces, but I think there'll be a few as well who want a bit of reassurance. You know, we've seen history not be kind to some clubs who've had a real go. So it's bound to be a bit of a gamble, it always is. But how much is the club future-proof to make sure everything will be okay in the long run? Yeah, we've always tried to look at every outcome when we make decisions.
“We're always looking at what's the short-term, and obviously for us that's the Premier League season, and obviously what the medium and long-term is. So we certainly have always been well-planned with that. I think you've always got to look at all the different outcomes, whether they're positive or negative.
“We're all geared up for the positive. You can spend a lot of time, I think, talking about the challenge and the difficulty. We've tried to assess the focus on what the solutions are and how we can build a really positive team for the Premier League.”
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