(Credit: Hasan Karim - Breaking Media, Imago)

Oliver Walton

Tue 12 August 2025 15:17, UK

Sunderland could be set to ramp up their efforts to sign Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Amine Adli ahead of another Premier League club as they continue their summer spending spree.

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Sunderland sealed promotion to the Premier League last season in the play-off final, and they have not rested on their laurels this summer in search of top-flight success.

Regis Le Bris has focused on bolstering his options across the pitch, with Habib Diarra arriving at the Stadium of Light for a club-record fee, Marc Guiu moving to Wearside on loan from Chelsea and Reinildo Mandava joining the Black Cats after he left Atletico Madrid, among many others.

(Credit Imago)

Granit Xhaka has been the biggest coup of Sunderland’s summer so far, after he joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen, and the Wearside club have also registered an interest in his now ex-teammate Amine Adli.

Adli was linked with a move to the Black Cats last month as they aim to continue their big spending with the new campaign edging closer, and they could now be set to accelerate their efforts to sign him following new developments around another club’s faltering interest.

Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg revealed via X on Thursday, 7 August, that Bournemouth had “added Adli to their shortlist for this summer transfer window,” with a potential deal to take him to the south-coast in the offing.

He stated that the 25-year-old forward has “received numerous enquiries” concerning his availability over the last few months, but a new update on the likelihood of the Cherries signing him has since emerged.

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According to Sky Sports reporter Mark McAdam (12 August), Bournemouth’s interest in Adli is now “thought to be cooling,” with the club instead exploring other options on the market.

While the Cherries focus on other targets instead of Adli, Sunderland are still believed to be in race for his services alongside Marseille, according to German outlet Kicker.

The Black Cats have been seriously ambitious this summer in signing the likes of Xhaka, Diarra and Simon Adingra, and their continued desire to impress and establish themselves in the Premier League lends itself to yet another show of intent in signing the Moroccan international.

Marseille are tough competitors, but his priority is to move to England [Bild], and Leverkusen value him at around £26.2m, which would certainly be affordable for the Wearside club.

Sunderland being able to land a player like Adli, who played 42 times in Bayer’s outstanding double-winning 2023/24 campaign, would be a huge statement of their intent going into the new season, and he would surely be a starter at attacking midfield for Le Bris.

He featured there for the majority of the last campaign under Xabi Alonso [Transfermarkt], but can play on either wing too, and so would represent yet another exciting, versatile addition to their squad ahead of the new season.

It would certainly not be a surprise to see the Black Cats land a player of Adli’s talent and status after they signed his Leverkusen teammate Xhaka, and his arrival would surely put the likes of Everton and West Ham on high alert to sign Chris Rigg.

Former club scout Mick Brown previously told Football Insider that Everton were leading the race for Rigg’s signature, while he has also revealed that Rigg is also of interest to West Ham as they each aim to bolster their midfield options.

AppearancesGoalsAssists7271Rigg’s Sunderland career stats

The 18-year-old will want to play relatively regularly in the Premier League after his impressive exploits in the Championship, and so he could force a move out if he is demoted to third-choice attacking midfielder behind both Adli and Enzo Le Fee.

Sunderland may also want to let Rigg leave for financial reasons, as they have only made one big-money sale this summer with Jobe Bellingham leaving the north east for Borussia Dortmund, and so might need to balance the books further with a current outlay of around €73.4m (£63.5m) so far since they won promotion.

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