Sunderland Target £30m Roma Forward Matias Soule
Sunderland are moving aggressively in the market again – and this time the target is a statement one. Talks have opened with Roma over forward Matias Soule, with the club exploring a deal that would underline just how far the Black Cats intend to push their project.
Sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, the architect of last summer’s impressive recruitment drive, is at the heart of it. He knows Soule as well as anyone in England. He was the man who took the Argentina international to Roma from Juventus in 2024, and now he wants the 23-year-old to spearhead Sunderland’s attack as they head into a landmark season that includes European football.
This is not a speculative enquiry. Initial contact has been made and, crucially for Sunderland, Soule’s camp have indicated the versatile forward is open to the move and keen to test himself in the Premier League. That green light has emboldened Sunderland to keep pushing.
Roma, for their part, are ready to do business. The Italian club are prepared to sanction Soule’s exit this summer and are understood to be seeking a fee in the region of £30 million (€35m / $40m). It is a price bracket that firmly places Soule in “marquee signing” territory – and Sunderland believe he fits the bill.
Soule’s appeal is obvious to those inside the club. Comfortable across the entire front line, he offers the sort of flexibility Regis Le Bris craves as he prepares for a packed, high-stakes campaign. A right-sided forward one week, a central creator or left-sided threat the next, he is seen as the kind of attacking talent who can lift the level of the squad immediately while still growing with it over the long term.
The numbers involved are significant, but there is no sense of Sunderland being priced out. Finances are not expected to be the sticking point. The club have already started reshaping their squad and balance sheet, and that work is giving them room to be ambitious.
Key Exits Fuel Major Move
Behind the scenes, Sunderland are close to completing the sale of Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra and have already banked a substantial fee from Eliezer Mayenda’s switch to Rennes. Those deals have not prompted a retreat. They have created the financial headroom to attack the market.
The message from the hierarchy is clear: this is about evolution, not consolidation. Last season’s success has not dulled the appetite. Sunderland want to strengthen from a position of momentum, not stand still and watch others catch up.
At the same time, the club are treading carefully around the guardrails of UEFA and Premier League financial regulations. Spending is being planned and structured, not thrown around. Every move is being weighed against both short-term impact and long-term sustainability.
That stance has already been visible in their refusal to cash in on key figures. Sunderland have taken a firm line over captain Granit Xhaka and midfielder Noah Sadiki despite interest building from elsewhere. Core pieces are being protected; the squad is being built around them, not broken up.
Soule, then, is not a luxury idea. He is viewed internally as a player who can walk straight into Le Bris’s side and handle the demands of domestic and European competition, while still fitting the club’s broader recruitment strategy of targeting high-value, upward-trajectory talent.
Ghisolfi’s Ace in the Pack
One factor could yet tilt the negotiations Sunderland’s way: relationships. Ghisolfi’s existing ties with both Soule and Roma offer a level of familiarity that can often prove decisive when the details of a major transfer are thrashed out.
He knows what makes the forward tick. Roma know how he operates in the market. Sunderland are banking on that shared history to smooth the path and keep the conversation moving, even with a £30m fee on the table.
For a club preparing for European nights and a sterner Premier League examination, this is the kind of move that signals intent. Sunderland are not just aiming to survive the step up in expectations.
They are trying to shape it.
