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The £35m transfer gamble Sunderland are set to take - and why it's their biggest risk yet Sunderland are in negotiations for a flying winger who could cost them as much as £35m - but would he be able to justify the transfer fee? Last summer, Sunderland entered the transfer market in explosive fashion, spending big and signing a raft of players in a risky but successful effort to build a squad which could thrive in the Premier League. A year on, however, and everything has been rather quiet at the Stadium of Light. At the time of publication, the Black Cats’ only signing has been veteran full-back Thomas Meunier despite the fact that there are still a couple of rather glaring needs to address – most notably the need for a new right winger, a position which stands out as a weak point in Régis Le Bris’ squad as the new season draws near. Sunderland have Morocco international Chemsdine Talbi, who was occasionally impressive but undeniably inconsistent over the course of his debut season, but behind him the cupboard looks bare – Jocelin Ta Bi, a January signing, has only made one league appearance for the club due to injuries, and Sunderland finished the 2025/26 campaign by crowbarring right-back Trai Hume into a more advanced position. Something needs to be done if they are to maintain their recent momentum. That ‘something’ could end up being the signing of Sporting winger Geny Catamo, with the club having entered negotiations to sign the Mozambique international before the start of the season. But can they get a deal over the line despite a gap in valuations, and is Catamo the right man for the job? Will Sunderland be able to agree a transfer fee for Geny Catamo? Sunderland’s interest in the 25-year-old Catamo became clear around a week ago, when reports in Portugal first suggested that initial enquiries had been made – but their first formal offer has fallen flat. A print report from Portuguese newspaper Record (summarised online by Sport Witness) claims that a bid of €30m (£26m) fixed without add-ons was rejected, with Sporting said to want to hold out for €40m (£35m). It’s not clear whether or not the gap will be easy to bridge. It’s unlikely that Sporting will budge. They played hardball with recent negotiations over the transfer of defender Ousmane Diomande to Nottingham Forest and ultimately succeeded in getting the deal structured according to their demands – and with Catamo under contract until 2029, they have enough leverage to hold firm once more. While still a selling club, Sporting have the financial strength to resist what they perceive to be lowball offers, and that may well happen again with Catamo, a regular starter on the right wing in Lisbon. The fact that head coach Rui Borges has reportedly told Sporting’s directors that he considers Catamo to be an essential starter won’t make them any more likely to fold. It appears as though Catamo himself is interested in making the move, at least, although that can only be inferred from comments made by his national manager – Mozambique head coach Chiquinho Conde gave a radio interview last week in which he said that his star player “wants to seize the moment” and move, according to The Sunderland Echo. Still, that won’t change Sporting’s stance, and Sunderland will have to weigh up whether they are ready to meet the asking price or whether to stand down and look for an alternative just days before the new season starts. So is Catamo worth £35m? Catamo could be an exciting signing - but there is risk involved Three years ago, Catamo’s career at Sporting looked likely to be brief. He had made just one senior appearance for the side he had joined in 2020 and a pair of loan spells with Vitória and Marítimo had failed to persuade anyone that he was ready for the first team. Several stories suggested that he would be sold. Instead, he stayed, fought for a place in the squad, and eventually established himself as a regular starter. With a game based on a quick turn of acceleration and sharp movement, Catamo gradually improved his consistency and decision making and started to produce the results that had previously been absent – having scored just one goal in two years away on loan, he scored five in 2023/24, seven in 2024/25, and eight last year. His finishing, in particular, has improved dramatically – his six league goals in 2025/26 came from just 3.37xG’s worth of chances – and he become braver on the ball, a player who creates opportunities by never passing up a chance to take the full-back on. The result is a player with a high number of successful dribbles at a relatively low success rate of around 40%. Catamo is a player who takes risks, takes them often, and can be frustrating as a consequence – but who generates goals and stretches play as a result of his exciting, high-risk playing style. He still isn’t a player who creates as many chances as he scores himself and his crossing accuracy is below average. His main strength lies in his capacity to break defensive lines and exploit space over the top, rather than in his technical quality or his capacity to unpick defences with a pinpoint pass. He also lacks a degree of physicality. Although undeniably quick, Catamo is just 5’8” tall and slightly built, and can be bullied by stronger full-backs in one-on-one situations, another area in which his relative lack of technical skill can cost him. The question is whether his improvements in front of goal and his undoubted ability to stretch defences should be enough to justify an outlay in the ballpark of £35m. Given that many players who score more goals in Portugal struggle to be productive in the Premier League, it’s certainly reasonable to wonder about the extent to which his productivity might drop off at a higher level. Catamo has the right qualities to be a hit in a direct team which wants to attack at pace, but doesn’t have an especially well-rounded playing profile – but what he does have is the willingness and ability to attack the full-back time and again until he gets through, and on average he completed 250% as many dribbles last season as Talbi did. That stat alone might explain Sunderland’s interest. It’s certainly easy to understand why Sunderland would be prepared to take a chance on Catamo at the right price point – but he would need to improve his output in some way to justify a price tag as hefty as £35m. It’s now up to Sunderland to decide whether he’s capable of stepping up a gear once more, as he did when he forced his way into Sporting’s starting side three years ago.