Sunderland: £10m Trai Hume claim made amid reported Galatasaray interest | OneFootball

Sunderland may have a tough time holding on to their star full-back this summer.

Sunderland will not accept any bids under £10 million for Trai Hume amid reported interest from Turkish giants Galatasaray.

Sports Illustrated journalist Michael Graham has claimed that the Black Cats won't consider any offers that aren't in the eight-figure region for the Northern Irish international, as they fight to hold onto one of their prized assets.

Sunderland's youth-first model means that they are in the position where teams of a higher standing are looking at their players as potential stars of the future.

The current squad is loaded with players of that magnitude. Hume, Dan Ballard and Pierre Ekwah, all players that are 24-years-old or younger and were all bought for fairly minimal fees, are now attracting attention from top flight clubs across Europe.

It's a great way for them to generate income, when their talent identification system is right, but it does mean that pretty much every summer they face a battle to keep these players.

The first test with regard to their 22-year-old full-back came from Champions League side Galatasaray, who sent a £7 million offer to the Black Cats for Hume, as claimed by both Graham and Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, although the Northern Echo has said that senior sources dismissed claims about such a bid being turned down.

The latter report from the Northern Echo has claimed that the Turkish side have Hume on their list of defensive options to go for in the window, though, and that an official approach could be made.

Either way, the Black Cats are likely to face more and more pressure from clubs with deeper pockets than them for their best player.

Sunderland set minimum Trai Hume price-tag amid Galatasaray interest

Any bid under the valuation of £10 million for Hume is reportedly going to be rejected by Sunderland, as per Graham. The Black Cats-focused journalist added that he expects the club to receive more bids from other clubs for him as the summer goes on.

The full-back, who can play on either flank, but tends to line up on the right-hand side, was signed from Northern Irish side Linfield in January 2022 for a fee of just £150,000, as per the Northern Echo.

Linfield themselves will be happy to hear about the minimum eight-figure fee that Sunderland would be willing to consider, as they are said to have a 15% sell-on clause for their former player, meaning they could receive at least £1.5 million from any deal that would see Hume leave the Stadium of Light, if they stick to their current asking price.

Former interim head coach Mike Dodds previously predicted in April that there would be some Premier League interest in the player, and his compatriot Ballard, down the road.

"They're both massively important to us and there is going to be a lot of interest at Premier League level if we don't get there ourselves at some point, because that's the quality they both have," Dodds said, via the Echo.

Sunderland right to hold firm on Trai Hume valuation

The Wearside club hold all the best cards in this situation. This is a diamond that they spotted, polished and are scheduled to own for a long time, with his contract only expiring in 2027. They are in as good of a position as they could be in regard to selling, or not selling, Hume.

Because of his contractual situation, and all the work that they as a club have put into making him the capped international that he is today, they are under no pressure to sell him, from both a financial and loyal perspective.

Hume shouldn't mind staying put, unless an unbelievable opportunity comes around, due to what Sunderland have done for him over the last two-and-a-half years.

The argument could be made that playing for Galatasaray in the Champions League is that type of opportunity, but there won't be any movement for him unless it's on good terms for his current club, and that's because of how well they have positioned themselves in this situation.

Sunderland though have absolutely no need to stoop lower than they want to; other teams will have to meet their demands to get Hume, if they really want him.