Bulka, who has also been linked with Leeds United and Galatasaray this summer, is entering the final 12 months of his contract with Nice and reports in France say the 25-year-old is not expected to sign an extension.
With that in mind, Nice will look to cash in this summer and are said to value the five-time Poland international at €20 million.
Fresh reports today claim Sunderland are now in ‘active talks’ with Nice, though there’s no indication at this stage that an agreement is close.
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Galatasaray are said to be willing to meet Nice’s asking price but sources in France claim a move to Turkey doesn’t appeal to Bulka. Reports also claim Bulka isn’t keen on the idea of a switch to Elland Road to join Leeds, who are prioritising the capture of a new No.1 goalkeeper this summer after Illan Meslier was dropped at the back end of last season.
What could give Sunderland an advantage is the expected arrival of Florent Ghisolfi as the club’s new sporting director.
Ghisolfi was sporting director with Nice between 2022 and 2024 and knows Bulka from his time at the Ligue 1 club.
Bulka moved to Chelsea from his homeland in 2016 before leaving on a free transfer to link up with PSG three years later. He made a permanent move to Nice in 2022, and has since established himself in France, where he’s extremely highly-rated.
Anthony Patterson has been Sunderland’s established No.1 for a number of years now, with the 25-year-old having already racked up more than 150 appearances for his hometown club.
Sunderland have Simon Moore and Blondy Nna Noukeu on their books as deputies, while highly-rated teenager Matty Young spent last season with Salford and will be expected to head out on loan again this summer.
Explaining Sunderland’s transfer strategy as they prepare for their first season back in the Premier League, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said last week: “From a club’s perspective, we’re not naive to what the Premier League is.
“We understand that our strategy to get here is going to be a different to what is required to stay here. Our objective has never just been to get to the Premier League, it’s such a landmark and naturally everyone talks about that but internally over the last two, three, four years it’s always been about re-establishing ourselves.
“What we need to do now is go on the next part of that journey, and think about establishing ourselves over the next three or four years [at Premier League level] and hopefully build to a point where we can be involved towards the top end of the league which is ultimately where we all want to be.
“We’re trying to recruit players for that. I’ve spent the last three days in three different countries, speaking with players and agents.
“The work behind the scenes is up and running and has been for a number of weeks.”
