Sunderland expected to launch £17m transfer bid for Leeds United-linked attacker - reports

Sunderland are expected to submit a big money bid for Ukrainian forward Vladyslav Vanat this summer, according to reports.

The Dynamo Kyiv attacker was originally linked with the Black Cats last month, with suggestions that Regis Le Bris’ side would only push ahead in their interest if they were successful in the Championship play-off final against Sheffield United.

Now, having won that pivotal clash at Wembley, further updates have emerged suggesting that a hefty offer could be tabled in an effort to lure Vanat to the Stadium of Light over the coming months.

What has been said about Sunderland’s interest in Vladyslav Vanat?

According to TaToTake, Sunderland are preparing a bid of up to £16.8 million for Vanat, who registered 21 goals in all competitions last season and finished top scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Predominantly a centre-forward, but also capable of operating out on the left wing, the 23-year-old is currently away on international duty with Ukraine’s U21s ahead of the upcoming European Championships, and as such any offer for the player is likely to come in the aftermath of the tournament.

What has previously been said about Sunderland’s interest in Vladyslav Vanat?

Last month journalist Mikhail Spivakovsky outlined Sunderland’s apparent interest in Vanat, claiming that Regis Le Bris’ side had included the forward on a list of prospective targets heading into the summer window.

To that end, Sunderland are not the only side supposedly monitoring Vanat. Indeed, another recent update from Ukraine stated that both Leeds United and Fulham are chasing the player, with suggestions that he would prefer a move to the Premier League over the coming months - but only after participating in Dynamo Kyiv’s Champions League qualifiers.

Further afield, Turkish outfit Trabzonspor have also been touted as admirers, but Dynamo president Ihor Surkis has sought to quell rumours that his side have received any bid for Vanat at the present moment in time. He said: “All these are still just ‘fake news’ that have no confirmation. The club didn’t receive anything. If there are proposals, we will consider. Transfers are made in silence.”

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What has been said about Sunderland’s summer transfer plans?

Outlining Sunderland’s plans for the summer transfer window during an interview last week, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: "We're always trying to get the balance right between being prepared for whichever league you might be in and we've tried to do that.

"Naturally as a play-off winning team you're behind where other clubs might be, but we're fast-tracking that and catching up. We're looking to improve and build a team that is capable of staying in the Premier League, I think the objective is fairly clear.

“Everyone will point to the statistics as to how difficult it is to stay in the Premier League and we're fully aware of that, we're not naive. Our strategy in getting to the Premier League and the solutions we needed, to the ones we need to stay there, will be different. That's work we're doing at the minute but ultimately, we're going to stick to our values. We need to have a team that the community and city is proud of, we've build that in the current team and we have to have that in the Premier League.

"When we came to the club we had a multi-year strategy about how we'd able to get back to the Premier League, and it's about continuing that way of thinking. We're going to make decisions that are in the best interests of the club to try and retain our position in the Premier League, while also making decisions that don't negatively impact the club in the long term. I think we've seen before at Sunderland that if you don't consider those factors, how negative that can be in the long term. I don't think it's necessarily anything different in terms of our principles, but there are clearly key decisions coming up around making sure we have a squad capable of achieving our objective of staying up."

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