Sunderland are reportedly tracking two exciting young strikers as transfer interest builds ahead of January
Sunderland continue to be linked with potential future additions as recruitment work carries on ahead of the January transfer window.
The Black Cats are reportedly among a number of Premier League and Bundesliga clubs keeping tabs on Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Konaté, while fresh reports from Argentina have revisited Sunderland’s previous interest in highly-rated River Plate youngster Bruno Cabral. Here is the latest Sunderland transfer round-up.
Sunderland linked with £21m Salzburg striker
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Sunderland are reportedly monitoring Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Konaté amid significant competition for the Ivory Coast international. Borussia Dortmund are said to be leading the race for the 22-year-old, with RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt also credited with an interest. Nottingham Forest and Sunderland are among the Premier League clubs tracking his situation.
No formal negotiations are believed to have taken place, although initial contact with the player’s representatives has reportedly been made by interested clubs. Salzburg are said to value Konaté at between €20million and €25million, which currently works out at approximately £17million to £21.2million. That is considerably higher than his current €12million – around £10.2million – Transfermarkt valuation.
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Konaté remains under contract with Salzburg until the summer of 2028 and the Austrian side would reportedly prefer to retain him until the end of the season. A January deal has not been completely ruled out, however, should their valuation be met and a replacement be found. The forward joined Salzburg from ASEC Mimosas for around €3.5million – approximately £3million at the current exchange rate – in 2022.
Konaté has since developed into one of the Austrian club’s most productive attacking players, registering 47 goals and 13 assists in 99 competitive appearances. He has also started the current campaign strongly and has 18 senior caps for the Ivory Coast.
River Plate protect Sunderland-linked youngster with £85m clause
Elsewhere, River Plate have moved to protect teenage striker Bruno Cabral after Sunderland were previously credited with an interest. Reports in Argentina claimed Sunderland made enquiries over Cabral towards the end of 2025 after the forward impressed during River’s successful Messi Cup campaign.
Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen were also linked with the youngster at the time. Cabral, who turned 16 in August, has now agreed his first professional contract with River Plate. The deal runs until December 2028 and contains an enormous €100million release clause – approximately £84.8million at the current exchange rate.
That figure should not necessarily be viewed as Cabral’s asking price. Huge release clauses are regularly inserted into contracts involving highly-rated young South American players to provide clubs with significant protection against overseas interest. River had been unable to formally tie Cabral down to professional terms before he turned 16 because of Argentine regulations.
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Sunderland’s previous interest is nevertheless another indication of the club’s continued focus on identifying emerging talent across overseas markets, with Cabral already attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs despite being at the very beginning of his senior career.
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