SUNDERLAND’S summer recruitment work is “up and running”, with Kristjaan Speakman having spent most of the last week pursuing a number of overseas targets.
The Black Cats hope to make ‘four or five’ major acquisitions before the start of the new Premier League season, with reinforcing the spine of the team that earned promotion last season a top focus.
Enzo Le Fee has already completed a permanent club record transfer from Roma, while Jobe Bellingham has joined Borussia Dortmund for another club record fee.
Further movement is expected ahead of the start of pre-season training early next month, with Speakman leading the recruitment process in his role as sporting director.
The Black Cats’ manager provided an update at the Foundation of Light’s annual fixtures breakfast, where the club’s opening-day home game against West Ham United was announced, and while he did not address particular goals, he did indicate that his primary attention in recent days has been overseas.
Sunderland are reportedly interested in Ukrainian attacker Vladyslav Vanat, who is currently competing in the European Under-21 Championships in Slovakia, as well as Monaco defender Wilfried Singo and Sassuolo forward Armand Lauriente.
“Our objective has never just been to get to the Premier League,” according to Speakman. “It’s a historic event, and everyone talks about it, but inside, the last two, three, four years have been about reestablishing ourselves.
“So, what we need to do now is take the next step in that journey and think about establishing ourselves over the next three or four years (at Premier League level) and hopefully building to a point where he can be involved towards the top end of the league, which is ultimately where we all want to be.”
“We are trying to find players for that. I’ve spent the previous three days visiting three different nations and interacting with players and agents. I returned to England about 2 a.m. last night, so work behind the scenes has been ongoing for several weeks.
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