Sunderland target 'free to speak' to new clubs in January as Black Cats set to demand £25m for star - round-up
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Sunderland will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Stoke City in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime. The Black Cats have now gone six games without victory in the league, and lost their most recent outing, against Sheffield United, on Friday evening.
But while attention, for the time being, is fixed firmly on on-field matters, the January window continues to approach at a rapid rate. We are now a little over three weeks away from the market reopening, and with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at a couple of the Sunderland-related transfer stories that you might have missed from the past couple of days...
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Cummings yet to receive Celtic offer
Reported Sunderland target Daniel Cummings is still yet to receive a contract offer from current club Celtic, and as things stand, will be available to speak to potential suitors in the new year. The 18-year-old has been in sublime form of late, scoring 17 goals in 14 appearances for the Hoops’ B Team in the Lowland League this season, with a further five in 10 outings in the UEFA Youth League.
According to Football Insider, his prolific output is attracting interest from a host of English clubs, including the Black Cats, Wolves, Fulham, Ipswich Town, and Burnley - but despite his purple patch, Celtic have not tabled a formal extension to the professional contract he signed in 2022.
And as a consequence, the Daily Mail state: “After losing Rocca Vata to Watford and Daniel Kelly to Millwall last summer, Celtic moved to tie up Francis Turley and Colby Donovan on new deals. Despite his prolific scoring and interest from down south, however, Cummings has yet to receive the offer of an extension to stay put and is free to speak to interested clubs from January 1st.”
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Hide AdBellingham details emerge
Elsewhere, German outlet SportBILD suggest that Sunderland “can gamble” with any prospective sale of Jobe Bellingham given his current contract situation. The midfielder put pen to paper on a fresh long-term deal at the Stadium of Light over the summer, and it is understood it includes no official release clause.
As such, the Black Cats are said to feel emboldened that they can demand a higher fee for the teenager, and it is claimed that it has “filtered through” to main suitors Borussia Dortmund that Bellingham’s asking price may ultimately end up being in the region of £25 million or so. It is also stated that Dortmund may need to offload some of their current squad to facilitate a swoop for the Sunderland starlet.
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