Sunderland have no intention of leaving their attempts to sign Geny Catamo from Sporting Club de Portugal in the past. In fact, all signs are that they intend to revive them in January.
Catamo was a major target for the Black Cats during the summer transfer window. Indeed, that continued all the way until deadline day.
They remained keen on the winger right up until the end of the window. Sport Witness reported on the madness of that pursuit, with a private plane arranged to take him to England.
Ultimately, though, the deal didn’t happen. Sporting stuck to their guns and demanded a fee, €40m plus, that Sunderland were unwilling to pay. But that was not the end of their interest.
Sport Witness have already reported how Sporting are making moves to block a January bid. Then a report on Monday explained Sunderland would need to do a ‘madness’ to get a deal done.
Refusing to give up
Now A Bola report that the Black Cats are making plans. The Portuguese newspaper reports that ‘Sunderland won’t let go’ of the 25-year-old.
They explained that despite Catamo being locked to a deal until 2029 – and also locked in renewal talks – Sunderland won’t give up on the idea of signing him.
They made a ‘serious attempt’ to sign the Mozambican in the summer. That initial approach was worth €30m, plus an additional €10m tied to performance-based objectives. That fell short of Sporting’s valuation.
They would only consider a deal that guaranteed a fixed fee of €40m. Sunderland never offered that, despite being willing to quintuple the player’s wages and tempt him into the move to the Stadium of Light.
January interest
That contract offer is still on the table and Sunderland ‘continue to monitor him closely’ ahead of January.
There is no indication that they have discarded him as an option despite Sporting’s refusal to sell in the summer.
Whether they are willing to go as high and as ‘mad’ as the Portuguese side want them to, though, remains to be seen.
That might be very dependent on where they sit in the table at that point. With them currently in the bottom three, things are looking bleak. An attacking signing would be more than welcome.
But things can change quickly and if matters improve drastically, transfer plans are likely to change with them.
