A deal to sign the 26-year-old forward is not yet done, but Sunderland are increasingly confident after positive developments in recent days and an agreement between the clubs is now close. Providing there are no complications, Sunderland will pay a fee of £17m for the forward, who made known his desire to move to Wearside.
Laurienté starred for Sassuolo in Serie B last season, scoring 18 goals and providing six assists in 33 league appearances. He previously played for Lorient, and was identified as a leading attacking target at the start of the summer, with the versatile forward well known to both head coach Regis Le Bris and new director of football Florent Ghisolfi.
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Sunderland have been patient in their pursuit of Lauriente, and have held talks with several other clubs regarding alternative targets, but a breakthrough has been achieved this week and the attacker is now in advanced talks with the Black Cats.
Laurienté, who is comfortable playing out wide or in a central attacking role, was wanted by several clubs in Europe this summer, while Italian side Bologna have long-term interest. But Sunderland are now well placed to once again fight off competition for a major signing, as they have done on several occasions already this summer.
The capture of Laurienté would be another major boost for the Black Cats in their preparations for the coming Premier League season.
They’ve already made six signings this summer but sporting director Kristjaan Speakman last week confirmed they were still pursuing “several” more, with a central defender and goalkeeper on their radar, as well as former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.