AS Roma close in on £22m transfer deal for Sunderland and Leeds United target Neil El Aynaoui - reports

AS Roma are on the verge of signing mooted Sunderland transfer target Neil El Aynaoui, according to reports.

The Black Cats are one of several clubs to have been linked with the midfielder, with French title Foot Mercato suggesting that Leeds United, Juventus, AC Milan, and Roma were all in the running.

And while at one point it had seemed as if the chances of El Aynaoui moving to the Italian capital were diminishing a fresh update from transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has suggested that a deal is now on the brink of completion.

What has been said about Neil El Aynaoui’s transfer to AS Roma amid Sunderland links?

Writing on X, Romano said: “Neil El Aynaoui to AS Roma, here we go! Deal in place for Moroccan midfielder to join on €23m plus €2m add-ons. El Aynaoui will travel to Roma tomorrow with medical to follow: Five year contract for El Aynaoui with documents being signed right now.” In total, when converted, the RC Lens star looks set to cost his new club somewhere in the region of £21.7 million.

What is the latest Sunderland transfer news?

Elsewhere, the Black Cats look to be closing in on a deal for Sassuolo winger Armand Lauriente. The Echo understands that the club are making positive moves towards reaching an agreement for the 26-year-old.

Reports in France on Friday morning indicated that the two clubs were close to an agreement and this is understood to be accurate. Talks on ongoing and a deal has not yet been finalised but both parties are increasingly confident that it will be in the coming days.

According to Romano, Sunderland will pay a fee of just over £17 million to sign the forward. The player is keen on the move and so it is now expected to progress quickly.

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What Kristjaan Speakman said about Sunderland’s transfer planning

Speaking last week to Sky Sports, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said the club still wanted to make several additions to their squad. “We're not naive to the challenge,” he said.

“I think we have to be really clear, our mindset is that Sunderland needs to be back where it's always been. It's always been, on aggregate, around ninth place in the Premier League. It's top tier and that's the challenge, to reestablish the club back there and we're on a journey to doing that.

"The first part is being able to stay in the league. I'm really proud of some of the boys who have been with us since the start, since I got here and Kyril [Louis-Dreyfus] purchased the club. We've had loads of people who have joined on the way and chosen to come to us rather than going elsewhere. We've obviously got some more recent examples in the last few days of that happening.

"Players want to play with good players. They want the challenge. They want a competitive squad and they want good people in the squad. Last season, I think everybody could see from the outside that we have a really united group and really passionate group about playing for Sunderland, which is what supporters want to see."

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