Sunderland defender reacts to Leeds, Aston Villa and Leicester transfer links and makes Premier League claim

Sunderland defender Trai Hume believes he could play in the Premier League but insists he’s happy on Wearside.

The 22-year-old full-back started 45 Championship matches for the Black Cats during the 2023/24 season, while he signed a contract extension last summer, prolonging his deal until 2027 - with an option of a further year. Hume’s form has led to reported interest from several clubs, with Sunday Life Sport claiming Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Leicester, Leeds and Italian club Napoli are ‘keeping an eye on’ his progress.

Speaking to Sunday Sport Life, Hume, who joined Sunderland from Northern Irish club Linfield in 2022, said: “I think I could play in the Premier League. You have to keep yourself at a high standard and you want to push yourself as much as you can.

“That’s the level I want to get to but I’m happy enough at Sunderland and happy where I’m at and I’m really enjoying my football. If a move happens, it happens and if doesn’t I’m happy to play for Sunderland.”

Hume, who also played regularly for Northern Ireland during the 2023/24 season, is believed to have a sell-on clause in his contract, with Linfield reportedly set to receive 15 per cent of a transfer fee if the player is sold.

On recent transfer speculation, the defender added: “I try not to think about it. I let my agent deal with all that stuff and until they come to Sunderland and offer money I don’t pay too much attention to it.”

Sunderland are still searching for a new head coach following a disappointing end to the last campaign, which ended in a 16th-place finish.

When reflecting on how the season ended, Hume admitted: “I played in every single game last season so that’s a positive and I think I did well throughout but we didn’t finish where we wanted to finish and stay high up the table. Coming in this season we’ll have a new manager and hopefully we can get ourselves where we want to be.”