Former £8m-rated Sunderland transfer target leaves Bologna for Cesena on two-year contract

One-time Sunderland transfer target Sydney van Hooijdonk has found himself a new club

Sunderland were linked with the 23-year-old forward in the summer of 2023 with Italian newspaper Resto del Carlino claiming the Black Cats and Southampton had expressed an interest at the time.

It was then reported Bundesliga side Wolfsburg had agreed a fee of around £8million to sign van Hooijdonk, yet the move broke down. The striker then ended up spending the second half of last season on loan at Norwich City, playing nine times and failing to score.

However, the Dutchman has now found himself a new home with Italian second-division team Cesena after his career at Bologna failed to take off despite the forward being highly rated across Europe.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano reports: “Sydney van Hooijdonk leaves Bologna on permanent transfer to join Cesena, a two-year contract. Free move with performance-related add-ons and sell-on clause included.”