Regis Le Bris had a smile on his face when Sunderland defeated Wrexham 1-0 in the United States to close out their pre-season tour over the pond.
The French coach and his Black Cats side do not boast a flawless friendly record over the past several weeks, but there’s no question that Sunderland have rediscovered some of the coherence that went wandering at times toward the end of the 2025/26 season.
It should hardly be painted in a negative light, though. Sunderland beat Chelsea on the final game of the Premier League campaign to secure a seventh-place finish. As everyone on Wearside is joyously aware, this secured a ticket onto the Europa League train.
This meteoric rise has opened the gates for signings of a higher calibre than would otherwise have been possible, with Yeny Catamo an illustration of that.
How Yeny Catamo would fit in at Sunderland
Sunderland have a number of issues they have yet to resolve this summer. Le Bris’ side need depth, but they also need creativity and dynamism in attack. Last season in the Premier League, they generated an xG total of just 23.2 – above only Burnley and Wolves.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Catamo, 25, is not a creative midfielder, but he does boast a dynamic attacking skill set that could see him help Sunderland to kick on. The Sporting CP right winger has a £51m release clause in his contract, though the Black Cats would hope to strike a deal for less.
Across 29 league matches for Sporting last season, Catamo only scored six goals and supplied two assists. He has the capacity to score fantastic goals, but his consistency on that front leaves something to be desired.
He would spur Sunderland on next season, but would be the perfect man to do that down the right channel? Is Catamo multi-faceted attacking talent to take this side to the next level?
Perhaps he might be. Sunderland would benefit from signing the Mozambique international, but he could be trumped by a rival option on their shortlist.
Sunderland lining up move for Catamo upgrade
Sunderland need to add depth, given they will challenge across four fronts this season, domestically and abroad. Catamo could be a good signing in that regard, but Sunderland have been elevated to European-contender status, and they could sign an even bigger talent ahead of the new campaign.
According to BILD over in Germany, Sunderland are interested in signing Ernest Poku from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, with it revealed that the 22-year-old is on the verge of moving to the Premier League.
Poku is one of the most exciting young widemen in Germany, but he will be allowed to leave Die Werkself, should their €25m (£21m) asking price be met. Nothing has been set in stone, but it appears that the Black Cats are the frontrunners.
The Oranje U21 international has only spent one season in Germany with Leverkusen, but he has been ferried across a range of positions and thus may have struggled to cement himself as a fluent outlet.
Le Bris will streamline his role at Sunderland, perhaps principally deploying him out on the right, calling him to No. 9 when the situation demands, supporting Brobbey and acting as his foil.
|
Ernest Poku – Career Stats by Position |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Apps |
Goals + assists |
|
Right winger |
67 |
9 + 12 |
|
Centre-forward |
66 |
33 + 10 |
|
Left winger |
46 |
8 + 6 |
|
Left wing-back |
16 |
3 + 4 |
|
Right wing-back |
13 |
2 + 0 |
|
Attacking midfielder |
8 |
0 + 2 |
Catamo is a talented winger, but his numbers in Liga Portugal to leave something to be desired, whereas Poku has demonstrated across plenty of match action as a centre-forward his prolific ability in front of goal.
Poku’s fleet-footedness and willingness to star across any number of positions speaks toward his mentality and his team spirit. Le Bris left America in a good mood, relishing the rethreaded strings of coherence that proved so important at the start of the 2025/26 season.
Though Poku has never been an unrelenting dribbler, there’s no question that he is smart in progressing the ball forward. Catamo is not a trigger-happy ball carrier either, only completing 40% of his dribbles in Portugal last term.
Poku has the pace and the physicality to thrive in the Premier League. He might not be coming off the best season with Leverkusen, but the dynamic winger could prove a big hit under Le Bris’ wing, and he would be the stronger signing than Catamo.
