Ezequiel Schelotto is reportedly for sale at Sporting Lisbon and Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Brighton want to bring him to England.
Sunderland may not have splurged an obscene sum on new signings this summer, unlike so many other teams in the top tiers of English football, but their first two games of the new Championship season suggest that money isn’t everything.
Aidan McGeady, signed on a minimal fee from Everton, shone with a goal and an assist in Sunday’s hugely impressive 3-1 win at Norwich City. Lewis Grabban, a loan signing from Bournemouth, netted the other two while James Vaughan, a bargain buy from Bury, caused problems throughout.
The 28-year-old, who has featured in 34 league games for Sporting since joining from Inter Milan in 2015, is up for sale this summer and the club are desperate to find him a new home before the end of the transfer window.
The report claims that Sunderland, as well as local rivals Middlesbrough, are battling a number of Turkish clubs to land Schelotto, who would surely be an upgrade on the limited Billy Jones and Adam Matthews.
However, the report adds that Premier League newcomers Brighton, who put up a decent fight before succumbing to a 2-0 opening day defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, are currently leading the chase for the one-time Italy international.
Sunderland’s summer activity may not have got many pulses racing at the Stadium of Light but Grayson is already showing signs of creating a well-knit unit greater than the sum of its parts.
However, the allure of Premier League football may be too much for Schelotto to turn down.
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