Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League with a statement 3-0 win over West Ham. While some of the new signings, like Granit Xhaka, put in excellent performances, it was the players who got promoted that won them the game.
Following goals from Eliezer Mayenda, Daniel Ballard and Wilson Isidor, manager Regis Le Bris spoke about their significance to the team: “It’s really important for two reasons at least, the first one they showed they can step up today. We’ll see later, but today it was the case. At the same time, they are really important because they keep the identity of the club and the way we worked last season.”
One of the ways Sunderland were most impressive against West Ham was defensively, with the London side only managing shots that valued a total of 0.56 xG.
However, Le Bris is looking to strengthen his defensive unit even further as the club readies a second bid for their top centre-back target.
Sunderland is not giving up on signing Lucumí
Sunderland are planning to put in a second bid for Bologna centre-back Jhon Lucumí. Le Bris’s side previously placed a bid worth just over £24 million for the Colombian, which the Italian side rejected.
The bid that Sunderland placed was equal in value to the release clause that Lucumí’s contract previously held. This clause expired in mid-July, and the Black Cats are now expected to place a bid of higher value, according to Italian reports, via Sports Witness.
Bologna have already sold Lucumí’s centre-back partner, Sam Beukema, to Napoli this summer, and there are reports that because of this, the club see Lucumí as unsellable. The report goes on to say that Bologna are hoping to extend the defender’s contract, but as a “contract renewal appears complicated”, the Serie A side may be willing to let Lucumí go for a high enough bid.
On the personal side of the deal, Lucumí is reportedly “keen” on the move, and Sunderland already has a history with Lucumí’s agency, as he is with Wasserman, who also represent three current Sunderland players – Simon Moore, Dennis Cirkin and Dan Neil.
Why Sunderland might make Lucumí their club-record signing
Six of Sunderland’s top ten most expensive transfers have come in this window, and if they sign Lucumí, that number will rise to seven. The first bid they placed for the Colombian would have made him the club’s second most expensive player, and depending on the increase in value of the second bid, he could become the club’s record signing.
Last season, Lucumí stood out in Serie A as a ball-playing centre-back who excelled at stopping opposition counter-attacks. For Serie A centre-backs, he ranked in the top 9% for passes completed per 90 and accurate long balls per 90. Additionally, Lucumí averaged just over six ball recoveries per 90, which was in the top 4% of centre-backs. This means that when his side lost possession, he was often there to rectify the situation.
After the opening match, West Ham boss Graham Potter spoke about Sunderland’s performance and somewhat dismissively said, “It wasn’t a result – with the greatest respect – of Sunderland pushing us back and playing well. It was an action, a cross from 30 or 40 metres we should be happy to defend.”
While Sunderland didn’t dominate possession, only having 37% of it, they got the result from well-executed moments and hitting West Ham on the break.
Lucumí’s skill set will allow them to pull off this kind of result more often, as he is both accurate and progressive with the ball, allowing his team to counter quickly, and he specializes in stopping opposition counter-attacks, which will allow his team to exploit them in the transition of play.
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