Sunderland have sent an improved bid for Jhon Lucumi worth just over £24 million including a 10% sell-on clause, as per Fabrizio Romano.
To address defensive deficiencies, The Black Cats see the centre-back as a priority signing before the window shuts, but both parties are yet to reach an agreement as Bologna are insistent they want to retain the 27-year-old.
He has played a major part in Colombia's World Cup qualifying campaign for next year's tournament in the United States, and joined Bologna before the 2022/23 season commenced.
He racked up 44 appearances in all competitions last term for them, featuring in Champions League football for the Italian side for the first time since his move there from Belgian side Genk.
Bologna achieved a historic Coppa Italia triumph, and Lucumi kept a clean sheet in four of the five games in the cup, including in the final against AC Milan.
Dan Ndoye scored the only goal in the final to seal the club's first piece of major silverware for 51 years, and he has since made the move to Nottingham Forest, who were adamant on finding a replacement for the outgoing Anthony Elanga.
Sam Beukema has also switched allegiances, as Italian champions Napoli poached him from Bologna. Beukema appeared alongside Lucumi regularly and they formed a strong, consistent partnership with both being similar ages.
Bologna have acquired Jonathan Rowe from Marseille and two centre-backs, so they have quickly reinvested to give manager Vincenzo Italiano adequate preparation time.
Even though they are not necessarily light in the defensive department if Lucumi follows Beukema out the door, their stability and quality in the back line may still noticeably suffer.
So, Bologna evidently want to retain Lucumi before Monday's deadline day, irrespective of the transfer fee Sunderland put forward.
Surely anything in excess of the now proposed £24 million seems unrealistic from Sunderland's point of view, considering their expenditure this summer.
However, they have been moving at pace and with intention, so you can not count them out of the deal just yet.
Is centre-back the priority?
Sunderland defeated West Ham United on the opening day with Dan Ballard and Jenson Seelt in the back line, who were both integral parts of Regis Le Bris' Championship play-off winning side.
The Hammers threatened to score the opener in the first half but an impressive attacking display from the hosts after the interval ultimately steered them to a convincing three points to supplement the clean sheet.
Meanwhile, new arrival Omar Alderete from Getafe was handed his full Premier League debut in the 2-0 loss to Burnley, starting alongside Ballard, who suffered an early injury. The Black Cats' boss has said the latter could be ruled out for 2-3 weeks.
Nordi Mukiele and Arthur Masuaku expectedly did not look out of their depth against League One opposition Huddersfield Town, but ultimately they were just as culpable as their teammates for allowing The Terriers to defeat them at the Stadium of Light in Tuesday's Carabao Cup contest.
The new additions both played at centre-back, which was an intriguing decision by Le Bris considering neither of them prefer playing centrally.
Despite the influx of signings coming through the door, which puts Sunderland as the highest spenders of all the promoted sides since the Premier League's inception, there is still room for more.
Sunderland will be pushing to get this over the line to ensure they can compete with top flight outfits and crucially have solidity in defence - a valuable asset to any promoted side hoping to beat the drop.