The Black Cats had lined up a £17.5m deal for Lauriente, with the Sassuolo forward having travelled to Sunderland’s training base in the Algarve on Friday, but opted to pull the plug on the proposed transfer when issues emerged over the 26-year-old’s personal terms.
Lauriente has returned to Sassuolo, and as things stand, the Sunderland hierarchy do not intend to revisit the transfer. As a result, they are considering their options, with Regis Le Bris still keen to add another option in the final third. Last week’s news on Romaine Mundle, who will miss the start of the Premier League season after undergoing hamstring surgery, further strengthened the determination to sign another forward.
Suarez was regarded as potentially viable option earlier in the summer, with his current employers, Almeria, having accepted they will be unable to hold on to him for another season in Spain’s Segunda Division.
Sunderland officials held preliminary talks over the 27-year-old, who scored 31 goals in all competitions last season as Almeria finished sixth in Spain’s second tier.
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However, Suarez now looks destined to join Portuguese side Sporting, who have made him their preferred replacement for Viktor Gyokeres, who has been heavily linked with a potential summer move to Arsenal.
Suarez and his representatives are understood to have held formal talks with the Sporting hierarchy over the weekend, with a deal set to be completed in the next couple of days.
Sporting, who are set to face Sunderland in a friendly on the Algarve this evening, have agreed a deal with Almeria that should see Suarez head to Lisbon.
Sunderland have alternative options on the table, although they felt they were being quoted unrealistic prices for a couple of the forwards they discussed earlier in the summer. They were linked with Matthis Albine, who currently plays in the French top-flight with Nantes, and also held preliminary talks with Lyon over Georgia international Georges Mikautadze.
Meanwhile, Le Bris has sought to allay concerns over the number of players Sunderland could lose to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the end of the year.
The AFCON tournament, which is being staged in Morocco, will begin on December 21, with the group stage due to conclude on New Year’s Eve. The final is scheduled for January 18.
Four of the players Sunderland have recruited this summer – Reinildo Mandava, Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra and Simon Adingra – are international regulars for nations that have qualified for AFCON. A fifth, Chemsdine Talbi, has been linked with a possible call-up for Morocco, who qualify automatically as hosts.
Losing five first-team players for a big chunk of December and January has the potential to cause major problems, but Le Bris insists he and the rest of Sunderland’s recruitment team considered the ramifications of signing African players when they were conducting their transfer business earlier this summer, but concluded they could cope no matter what happens at the end of the year.
“Obviously, we know [what could happen],” said Le Bris. “At the same time, the market is the market and you can’t do always exactly what you want, about the African Cup, about younger players or more mature players…whatever it is [a club is looking for]. I think that at the end, we are going to have a competitive squad.
“I think, even with this, we are going to have depth in our squad. It’s needed. We don’t know how long they will be gone – it will depend on the results. At the same time, I think the depth of the squad we will have will help to manage this situation.”