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‘Direct talks’ are expected to take place ‘in the next hours’ as Jhon Lucumi pushes to try to move to Sunderland before the transfer window closes.
The Colombian centre-back has been Sunderland’s top defensive target this summer, but they have hit a brick wall in the shape of a Bologna side who do not want to sell.
Bologna even want to keep Lucumi on a new contract, although recently the player’s agent, batting for his client to get the move, indicated the club had promised that they would look at selling him this summer.
Sunderland signed Omar Alderete from Getafe amid the failure to land Lucumi, but a move to the Stadium of Light could still happen.
Lucumi is desperate for the move and is ‘pushing’ to sign for Sunderland, with personal terms already in place.
Now, according to Italian journalist Nicolo Schira, ‘direct talks’ are expected ‘in the next hours’ to thrash out Lucumi’s future.
Whether the Colombian centre-back can seal a late move away from Bologna is open to question.
| Player | Years | Total appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Montgomery | 1960–1977 | 627 |
| Len Ashurst | 1957–1971 | 452 |
| Ned Doig | 1890–1904 | 457 |
| Stan Anderson | 1951–1963 | 447 |
| Gary Bennett | 1984–1995 | 434 |
Bologna sold centre-back Sam Beukema to Napoli earlier in the transfer window and losing Lucumi as well would be a massive blow that they have been unprepared to take.
Lucumi has not gone on strike and played the full 90 minutes for Bologna in their 1-0 loss at Roma in Serie A on Saturday.
The highly-rated centre-back counts Belgian side Genk amongst his former clubs and is keen to now test himself in the Premier League.
His deal with Bologna still has another two years left to run.
Lucumi is just five appearances short of hitting the 100-appearance mark in Serie A and he will not get there with Bologna if he moves to Sunderland in the coming days.
