Sunderland are working hard to make further additions to their squad before the summer transfer window officially slams shut at 7 pm on Monday.
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie claims that the Black Cats are ‘hopeful’ of agreeing a deal to bring Bologna central defender Jhon Lucumi to the Stadium of Light before the deadline.
The reporter reveals that the club placed a £24m bid in for the Colombia international earlier this week, and they are now looking to press ahead with a move to snap him up.
Lucumi played 32 times in the Serie A and seven times in the Champions League for Bologna last season, so he could arrive as an experienced option for Regis Le Bris to call upon in his backline.
Sunderland eyeing late deal for EFL star
The Black Cats may not be done strengthening their defence even if they are able to land a deal for the Colombian titan, though, as they are also looking at a new goalkeeper.
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According to EFL Analysis, Sunderland are interested in a deal to sign Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson before Monday’s transfer deadline.
The report claims that Le Bris wants to bring in another goalkeeper to compete with Anthony Patterson and Robin Roefs in the Premier League this season, and has identified the Sweden international as a target.
It states that Potters boss Mark Robins has told the club not to sell Johansson before the end of the window, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will get his wish as Sunderland plot a last-gasp move for the colossus.
If the Black Cats can convince Stoke to part ways with their number one, Le Bris could have an even better signing than Lucumi on his hands.
Why Johansson would be a better signing than Lucumi for Sunderland
Lucumi won 60% of his duels in 32 appearances in the Serie A last season, per Sofascore, and could be a dominant defensive force for the club, but he is also prone to errors.
The 27-year-old centre-back made four errors that led to shots, three errors that led to goals, conceded one penalty, and was sent off once. No Sunderland player made as many errors as all of those combined in the 2024/25 Championship, per Sofascore.
That is a bit of a concern because it suggests that Sunderland will be signing a player who could cost them a lot of points through individual errors if those mistakes come at key moments in games.
Johansson, however, is a defensive presence, albeit in a very different position, who would not be as much of a potential liability for Sunderland if they decided to make him their number one.
Appearances
46
3
Save percentage
71%
78%
Clean sheets
14
1
Goals prevented
+10.94
+0.77
Error led to goal
1
0
Penalties committed
0
0
Red cards
0
0
As you can see in the table above, the Swedish star very rarely makes any significant errors and is an unbelievable shot-stopper, preventing nearly 12 more goals than xG expected him to since the start of last season.
For context, Roefs prevented 5.20 goals in the Eredivisie last season and is on -0.05 in his first two Premier League matches, which suggests that Johansson may come in as an upgrade on him as a shot-stopper.
The Stoke star, who has been hailed as “outstanding” by Robins, is an incredibly reliable goalkeeper who can pull off the extraordinary to bail his team out time and time again, as shown by his amazing statistics.
This is why he could be an even better signing than Lucumi, who may be prone to errors and significant mistakes, for Sunderland if they can get a last-gasp deal over the line before the deadline.
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