Juventus summer signing Jhon Lucumí’s agent Simone Rondanini has opened up about Sunderland, Atlético Madrid and other clubs wanting to sign him.
The Colombia international moved to Europe when KRC Genk signed him from Deportivo Cali in 2018. Four years later, the Belgian club sold him to Bologna. His rise at the Serie A side had caught the attention of Sunderland and Atlético.
The two clubs missed out on the centre-back to Juventus, who signed him from Bologna in August.
Sunderland and Atlético were keen
The Black Cats returned to the Premier League after winning the Championship playoff final in May 2025. Régis Le Bris’ side wanted to strengthen their defence with the 28-year-old last summer.
A year ago, Sport Witness covered a report from Italy explaining that Sunderland were ready to pay €30m plus for Jhon Lucumí. However, the Serie A side refused to sell him.
In July, Bologna CEO Claudio Fenucci backed up claims of blocking his sale to Sunderland in 2025. Fast forward to October, and AS caught up with Simone Rondanini to discuss his client’s growth so far. He has been managing the player since his time at Genk.
AS asked the agent how he handled Lucumí attracting interest from Sunderland, Atlético Madrid, Napoli and Barcelona.
Responding to that, he said: “I always tell the players we represent that there’s a difference between interest and a concrete offer.”
“In this world we operate in, clubs call you to get information about the price, salary, contract length, etc., and they do a kind of scouting to understand the type of player they need. They make calls to the coach, the sporting director, and make decisions.”
“Yes, there was interest and calls from those clubs, but it never materialised into a firm offer on the table. It was actually quite simple to tell him: ‘Look, there’s interest, you’re doing well, but we have to keep working so that an offer comes in.’ Like I said, we didn’t get any offers. Calls, yes. There were calls from other teams, but it wasn’t what either he or we were looking for.”
Sunderland only concrete option in 2025
The newspaper immediately asks the agent how close Atlético Madrid were to signing his client. When responding to that, Simone Rondanini also opens up about Sunderland’s bid for Jhon Lucumí.
“We had calls with them, but for two years in a row we had the passport problem. In the summer of 2024 we were very close, but Conor Gallagher signed and we couldn’t move forward because of the visa issue. They couldn’t have another non-EU player,” Rondanini explained.
“We kept an eye on things in case it could happen, but nothing came of it. Jhon liked the Atleti project, but the fact that he was going from Italy to Italy instead of Spain worked out well for him.”
“He might have been disappointed if he had stayed at Bologna this year, but at that time we had a formal offer from Sunderland, but it didn’t materialise either because the club didn’t want to sell. In the end, the boy stayed, and that was that, because there were no other options.”
