Sunderland have slapped a £10million price tag on Northern Ireland defender Trai Hume as they fight to hold onto their wanted man.
The English Championship side have no desire to see one of their best players leave and won’t enter discussions unless at least £10million is on the table.
If Hume is sold at that price during the summer transfer window, his former club Linfield would pocket a cool £1.5million.
The Blues are in line for 15 per cent of any transfer fee over £150,000 as part of the deal that took the player to the Stadium of Light.
Knowing that Linfield will pocket a considerable amount of the fee, his employers are looking for a bigger offer.
Sunderland have knocked back a £7million bid for Hume from Turkish champions Galatasaray but they expect further interest in the player.
The Black Cats are in no rush to do business as the 22-year-old has three years left on his current contract.
Hume, who joined Sunderland from Linfield for £150,000 in January 2022, has also been linked with Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Leeds, Leicester and Napoli.
The Ballymena man’s club and international team-mate Daniel Ballard has been linked with Kiernan McKenna’s Ipswich Town but he has been struck down by injury.
Ballard will miss the start of the Championship season after having surgery on a knee injury and could face six weeks on the sidelines.
The centre-half suffered the injury in Saturday’s pre-season friendly win over South Shields and, after seeing a specialist in London, he opted for a minor operation.
As he undergoes his rehabilitation at the Academy of Light, Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill will be hoping Ballard is fit for September’s Nations League double header against Luxembourg and Bulgaria.
Sunderland said: “All at SAFC wish Dan a swift recovery and return to action.”