Sunderland's brilliant start to the season appears to have fizzled out after defeat to Burnley in the Premier League and being knocked out of the League Cup by Huddersfield on penalties. Regis Le Bris however spoke about some of the positives he took away from the defeat on Tuesday, via BBC Sport.
"I am disappointed because we wanted to win. Huddersfield played with passion, and they scored a fantastic goal in the first half. We were not at our best in the first half and struggled to find our rhythm, but the second half was much better. It wasn't enough to win the game, but we gave many players valuable minutes, so it is a positive for the future".
Le Bris also spoke about the importance of giving some of his new defenders their debut: "Nordi [Mukiele] and Arthur [Masuaku] brought good energy to their game. They haven't played much during pre-season for various reasons, so it was like their first pre-season match. Now they will be ready for Premier League action."
Against Huddersfield, Le Bris played Masuaku and Mukiele at centre back despite both of them playing most of their careers as full-backs - he may not have to use makeshift centre-backs for much longer, as Sunderland have placed a second bid for one of their top targets.
Sunderland raise their offer for Lucumi
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Jhon Lucumi tackles Lionel Messi.
Sunderland have placed a second bid for Bologna centre-back Jhon Lucumi. This new bid is worth £24 million plus a 10% sell-on clause. This report comes from Fabrizio Romano, who says that while Sunderland view the Colombian as a “priority target”, Bologna still plan to keep him.
Earlier in the window, Lucumi had a release clause worth £24 million, but the Black Cats did not trigger this before it expired, while a first bid of £21.5 million was rejected.
Prior to the second bid, Italian journalist Matteo Dalla Vite spoke about Bologna's stance on the potential transfer.
“The situation is that of the last few weeks, Sunderland pushes, the player pushes, but it is strange that the English side have not been heard from for a month. If they were convinced, why did they not exercise the release clause? To date, they are at £21.5m, and Bologna need two things to open the door. A replacement and an offer between £24m and £25.8m.”
Bologna's reluctance to sell tied to new contract
Bologna’s stance throughout this window is that they would prefer to keep Lucumi. They have been trying to negotiate a new contract with the Colombian, whose current contract expires in the summer of 2027. Lucumi’s current contract is said to be worth just over £13,000 a week, and Sunderland have reportedly offered the centre-back enticing personal terms that include a pay rise to £54,000 per week.
One of the main reasons that Bologna are so desperate to keep Lucumi is that they have already sold centre-back Sam Beukema to Napoli this summer. Bologna don't want to be left shorthanded defensively, but they will not allow a valuable asset's deal to drip into the final couple of years.
The new contract has been difficult for them to negotiate, leading to a reported acceptance that a higher bid would make them reconsider their stance. Whether or not this new bid, which is at the low end of their reported target, is satisfactory remains to be seen.