Sunderland and Southampton in fresh pursuit of 19-goal striker | OneFootball

According to reports in Italy, both Sunderland and Southampton are looking into a move for the same striker after his goalscoring exploits in the Netherlands last season.

Per Il Resto del Carlino, Bologna attacker Sydney van Hooijdonk is of interest to both the Black Cats and the Saints as both clubs look to bolster their strike-forces ahead of the closure of the transfer window on September 1.

Who is Sydney van Hooijdonk?

23-year-old Van Hooijdonk, who is the son of former Netherlands international striker Pierre, has been at Bologna for two years now, with the Italian outfit snapping him up from NAC Breda in his native Holland in 2021 on a free transfer.

Van Hooijdonk had scored 23 times in 70 matches for Breda before making the move to Serie A, but after appearing just five times in Italy's top flight, the striker was loaned out to Heerenveen of the Eredivisie just halfway into his debut season at Bologna.

Scoring six times in 13 appearances for De Superfriezen, Van Hooijdonk returned to Heerenveen on another loan deal last summer, spending the entire 2022-23 season with them and scoring 19 goals in all competitions in 39 outings.

Contracted to Bologna for another two years, Van Hooijdonk does not appear to be at the forefront of head coach Thiago Motta's plans and they could now sell him to an English club.

Van Hooijdonk has attracted interest from two Championship clubs in particular thanks to his form for Heerenveen last summer, and it now remains to be seen as to whether a deal can be struck.

Where would Sydney van Hooijdonk fit in at Sunderland or Southampton?

Sunderland's desire for a striker is pretty clear and important as Tony Mowbray lacks options going into the 2023-24 season.

Their talisman Ross Stewart is continuing to recover from achilles surgery earlier in the year and it is thought that he won't be back until late September - that is if he is even a Black Cats player by then as several clubs are still believed to be keen on snapping the Scotsman up with less than 12 months to go on his contract.

And with new 18-year-old prospect Eliezer Mayenda immediately suffering a hamstring injury upon his arrival on Wearside, it leaves just Portuguese youngster Luis Semedo as the only out-and-out option that Mowbray can select going into the new season.

Southampton and Russell Martin meanwhile have options aplenty, but it remains to be seen how many will actually be at the club when the transfer window shuts in four weeks time.

Che Adams is a player that has significant interest in his services from Premier League clubs, with Everton, Bournemouth and Wolves all believed to be keen on landing the Scotland international.

Paul Onuachu meanwhile, who signed in the mid-season transfer window in 2022-23 from Genk, did not feature in pre-season for Southampton and whilst he returned to training recent, interest from clubs in Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and even his former club in Belgium would suggest that he will not be a Saints player come the end of the month.

Onuachu and Adams leaving would mean Van Hooijdonk would be battling with Sekou Mara and Adam Armstrong up-front should Martin land his services.