The £21m star Sunderland could sign instead of Catamo

Sunderland are not having the summer transfer window they might have envisaged after such a Herculean effort to climb into European competition last year.

An agent involved in Premier League transfers is believed to have described the state of the transfer window as “mayhem”, with clubs struggling to find quality players available for anything beneath astronomical wages. Somehow agree a fee, and then you’ve got to engineer a wage package which doesn’t border on the absurd.

Sunderland travel to Portman Road to take on newly-promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, and while the Black Cats will be favourites in that one, there’s no question that they need more quality in attack.

How Sunderland are trying to fix their creative problems

It’s almost ludicrous to suggest Sunderland are among the poorest teams in the Premier League for such a salient metric, but based on last term’s data, Regis Le Bris does need to change something in attack.

Sunderland came seventh last season, securing a seat at the European table. But Sunderland struggled to maximise their playmaking last term, reliant on a sturdy defence, coherent system and unexplainable X-factor that stems from the Stadium of Light, capable of consuming any opponent.

It’s clear that Sunderland need more, and they have yet to add an attacking player to their ranks this summer. The Premier League season, as you will be aware, is upon us.

Sunderland do have creative players of individual merit. Enzo Le Fee, for example, racked up six assists and created 13 big chances in the Premier League last season. Chemsdine Talbi out on the right, however, failed to create a single big chance.

Efforts have been made this summer to sign Sporting CP winger Geny Catamo, who is keen on the move, but the Portuguese side’s £51m price tag is proving prohibitive.

Sunderland in talks to sign their next Le Fee

Catamo is a good player, but is he worth the figure that Sporting are demanding? Perhaps not. The market is overinflated right now, but that’s all the more reason to be savvy – and Sunderland love a shrewd deal.

As per various Italian sources, rounded up by Sport Witness, Sunderland have made a fresh enquiry over Bayer Leverkusen winger Ernest Poku, who has been given the green-light to leave the BayArena this summer, should his €25m (£21m) price tag be met.

REUTERS/Lee Smith

Dutchman Poku, who is 22 years old, could emulate Le Fee in joining Le Bris’ brood, having established himself as an elite talent in the past, though taken a hit to his stock in the build-up to his prospective move to Wearside.

Le Fee spent half a season with Roma before joining Sunderland, and before that, a term in France with Rennes, where he proved unable to recapture the giddy form with Lorient, putting his name on the map.

For Poku, he started 16 Bundesliga matches last season after joining Leverkusen from AZ Alkmaar in his homeland. There he established himself as a fleet-footed menace, versatile and willing to feature across a variety of roles. Journalist Ronan Murphy hailed him as “the fastest player at the U21 Euros” in 2024, and his ability to score and assist and stretch defensive lines could make him the perfect Catamo alternative.

Poku scored many goals as a centre-forward when plying his trade for AZ’s second team, but his senior career has primarily seen him dispatched on the flanks.

Though he only started 16 times for Die Werkself in the Bundesliga, he posted five goals and five assists apiece. Le Fee starred from ther get-go when joining Sunderland for their promotion push, and Poku could very much follow suit, having maintained a degree of prolificness with his current side.

Poku needs to reboot his career after an up-and-down year in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. He could take a leaf out of Le Fee’s book and establish himself as a star in the Premier League. At a well-oiled Sunderland side in need of a creative makeover to avoid second-season syndrome in the top flight, he could be key.