Sunderland AFC to launch £13m bid to beat Sheffield United to Leicester City striker | OneFootball

The Black Cats are battling against Sheffield United for the striker this January.

Sunderland are prepared to launch a £13m bid for Leicester City striker Tom Cannon, just hours after Sheffield United offered £7m themselves.

That's according to Alan Nixon via Patreon, who stated on Monday evening that the Black Cats will take the striker on loan for the rest of the season, with the move becoming a permanent one if they are promoted to the Premier League.

The 22-year-old is currently on loan at Stoke City, but there has been plenty of conversation over his future with it currently looking unlikely that he will stay with Leicester City past the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Sunderland launch audacious £13m bid

The £13m will be paid as a down payment plus add-ons, after the Blades had submitted a £7m offer that would be paid if they are to win promotion themselves, as per the report.

The race for Cannon stepped-up on Monday, with Leicester having to decide by midnight if they were going to recall the striker from Stoke, where he has scored nine goals in 22 Championship matches.

The Potters do want to keep hold of the striker, but the pressure from the two top four sides has built over the last few weeks means that this is relatively unlikely at this point.

The Foxes are keen to sell Cannon this month, and a loan-to-buy agreement will be acceptable as they look to balance the books further, despite Monday's announcement that all Premier League clubs have avoided Profit and Sustainability charges between 2021 and 2024.

Nevertheless, Sunderland's bid is nearly double that of Sheffield United's, and it will now be up to Leicester for them to decide which side their young striker will end up with after months of rumours.

Sunderland are going all out for promotion

Following a surprise charge for promotion, the Black Cats have shown their hand in the transfer market, after they signed Enzo Le Fee on loan last week. Similar to the potential Cannon deal, Sunderland will pay a reported £20m to Roma if they are promoted to the Premier League.

Regis Le Bris has been given the opportunity to strengthen his team even further after a relatively busy summer, and he has identified the forward line as somewhere that does need improving.

Wilson Isidor has had a relatively good first season in England, but with his future at the club not guaranteed, Sunderland want to bring in a striker who will only develop in the coming years.

With the top four so close in the Championship, the right signing at the right time could help push a club into the automatic places in the final weeks of the season, and the financial benefits that will be reaped from that far outweigh the consequences right now.