Sunderland transfer news latest: Matija Frigan, Sydney Van Hooijdonk, Nathan Bishop | OneFootball

One club that hasn't been short of transfer speculation since the beginning of the transfer window is Sunderland.

After finishing sixth before being defeated by the eventual Championship play-off final winners Luton Town in the semi-finals, Tony Mowbray's side are looking to add further depth and quality to what was the youngest squad by average age the second tier last season.

Here is a roundup of the most recent transfer speculation surrounding the Black Cats.

Pursuit of Croatian striker continues after initial bid rejected

It is no secret that Mowbray is keen to add further to his attacking department as soon as possible, with Ross Stewart set to miss the opening game of the campaign against Ipswich Town through injury.

Having been unsuccessful in their pursuit of former loanee Ellis Simms, who has since joined fellow Championship side Coventry City, Sunderland have since turned their attention to Croatian forward Matija Frigan.

Alan Nixon was the first to report that Sunderland will continue their chase for the 20-year-old after an initial report from Croatian news outlet Sportse Novotski stated that the club had made an opening bid for the striker in the region of £3.4m, which was rejected by his club HNK Rijeka.

Last season, Frigan accumulated 14 goals in 27 games for Rijeka as they finished fourth in the Croatian First League, which led to the club's qualification into the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Conference League. Frigan was also the second-highest goalscorer in the division, and such form has attracted the interest of Sunderland, who lack depth in the centre-forward role.

Sunderland and Southampton linked with Dutch forward

Another striker linked with a potential move to the Stadium of Light is Dutchman Sydney Van Hooijdonk, as per the 72.

The 23-year-old is currently contracted to Serie A side Bologna until the summer of 2025, but it has been reported that a host of Premier League and Championship are interested in acquiring his services.

The other Championship club with concrete links to Van Hooijdonk at this moment are Southampton, as Russell Martin looks to add numbers to the newly-relegated outfit after recently taking charge at St Mary's.

Despite only featuring five times for his parent club, the striker enjoyed two successful seasons in front of goal on loan at SC Heerenveen in the Eredivise, scoring 25 times in 52 appearances, as well as being named as Eredivisie 'Talent of the Month' in April 2022.

The aforementioned report states that at the beginning of 2023, he was valued in the region of £10m, but this valuation is said to have dropped, meaning Sunderland have a chance of securing a cheaper deal.

One out, one in for Black Cats between the sticks?

Fresh developments this morning state that the Black Cats have made Manchester United's Nathan Bishop a top target, as backup goalkeeper Alex Bass looks set to depart on loan.

Alan Nixon via Patreon reports that Bass, 25, will join League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon on a season-long loan having only made a solitary competitive appearance for the club last season. Reports earlier in the month suggested Bass would depart for fellow London club Leyton Orient, but the O's turned their attention to other targets.

This has left Mowbray with a gap to fill between the sticks and Bishop has emerged as a priority, according to Sunderland Nation.

Since departing Southend United for Old Trafford in the summer of 2020, the only taste of first-team football Bishop has had was in a loan spell at Mansfield Town in the 2021/22 season, as the Stags were ultimately defeated in the play-off final by Port Vale.

Having not made a senior appearance for the Red Devils, the report suggests that Mowbray is keen to bring in a young goalkeeper in that can develop alongside Anthony Patterson, who kept 14 clean sheets whilst featuring in every one of Sunderland's 46 Championship games last season.