Last month, Messaggero Veneto stated Udinese are determined to sign Sunderland’ Pierre Ekwah this summer.
It was also stated the Serie A side can’t close the deal quickly because of the Black Cats’ high demand. There was no mention of the fee requested by Sunderland.
L’Equipe journalist Loïc Tanzi took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to claim Udinese have made a firm approach to sign the Sunderland midfielder.
He adds the Italian club have made an opening bid of €5m, which has been rejected by Régis Le Bris’ side.
The journalist says Udinese ‘must come back’ with an improved bid if they want to secure the 22-year-old’s services. The Frenchman has three years left on his deal. Tanzi doesn’t specify the Championship side’s request to sanction a deal in this window.
He also makes no mention of whether the player is willing to leave the English club for Udinese.
Ekwah made 42 appearances for Sunderland last season and played the full 90 minutes in his side’s EFL Cup defeat to Preston North End earlier this week.
