Transfer news: Sunderland ‘pushing’ to beat Brentford in race for £26m striker, contact made with agent

Sunderland have once again been linked with a move for Santiago Gimenez, as reports claim the club are pushing to secure the AC Milan striker.

The Black Cats have made an impressive start to their long-awaited return to the Premier League, building on the groundwork laid by an ambitious summer transfer campaign.

With the club performing strongly, owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has hinted that further reinforcements could arrive in January.

It is within this context that Sunderland were first associated with Gimenez earlier in the month, and fresh reports over the last 24 hours have renewed talk of their interest.

What is being reported about Sunderland’s pursuit of Santiago Gimenez?
According to SportMediaset, via MilanNews, Sunderland are “pushing for the Mexican” forward and are already in contact with his agent, Rafaela Pimenta.

The report suggests the Wearside club are prepared to submit a proposal consisting of a paid loan with an obligation to buy, triggered under certain conditions.

Milan’s stance remains uncertain, however. The Italian giants paid roughly £26.4 million to sign Gimenez in January, and it is unclear whether they would accept such a deal. Even so, the same report claims sporting director Igli Tare has already identified a potential successor — Parma striker Mateo Pellegrino.

This development follows a report from CalcioMercato, which states Sunderland are currently ahead of Premier League rivals Brentford in the chase for the 24-year-old.

The influence of Florent Ghisolfi is credited as a major advantage for Sunderland, though it is also noted that Milan would prefer to recoup the substantial fee they invested when signing the former Feyenoord star less than a year ago.

What has Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said about Sunderland’s January transfer plans?
Speaking to Sky Sports, Louis-Dreyfus addressed how the club’s strong start could shape their mid-season approach. He explained:

“I think the stats showed to us that unless you do something extraordinary you’re likely going to go back to the Championship.

For us, we didn’t really set ourselves a budget in terms of the money we want to spend — we had an ambition to try and bring in the players we want and fortunately a lot of the deals we wanted to do we were able to conclude them, and as a result of that the spend in the end was big, but most importantly we got the players that we wanted.

“I would say definitely a little bit [that the great start could affect Sunderland’s approach in January] because obviously if we’re in the bottom three by Christmas or we’re in the top six by Christmas that changes the ambition a little bit.

We’re currently preparing for all scenarios but we’ve been doing that since the summer, so hopefully we’ll be going into the January window with a top ten finish in mind and we will prepare and execute the transfer window to give us the best chance.”