Why Trai Hume will be condemned if Sunderland sign a £30m contract

Sunderland are yet to sign to strengthen their squad for the 2026/27 campaign although they know they need more depth next season.

Qualifying for the Europa League means the Black Cats will play at least eight more games and will need to have plenty of options in every position to ensure Regis Le Bris is able to rotate his squad and stay competitive in both competitions.

The French manager will also want to make sure his side don’t falter and continue to improve with new players who will be able to step up.

One area of ​​the club that looks to need strengthening before the end of the summer transfer window is on the right side, as Le Bris has no natural options in that position.

Why Sunderland need to sign a new right-back this summer

The fact that Trai Hume started 11 games, scoring one goal, in the Premier League as a right winger says all you need to know about Sunderland’s depth on the right wing.

Bertrand Traore also scored one league goal for the Black Cats as a defender, playing 12 times, but was released at the end of last season when his contract expired.

Chemsdine Talbi also played on the right side of the attack at times, after his £18m move from Club Brugge, but his best moments came from cutting his right foot to the left wing instead.

The Black Cats, therefore, need to sign a new right winger this summer because Traore is gone, Talbi is more active on the other side, and Hume is a full-back by trade.

As expected, the Northern Ireland international looked like a full-back who was asked to play on the wing, as he rarely contributed at the other end of the pitch, and should only be used as a right or left-back.

How Sunderland can replace Trai Hume

Hume’s issue however is that he has Nordi Mukiele in his midst and is a regular starter at right back, meaning the arrival of a new player could be bad news for his playing time.

Now, the Northern Echo reports that Sunderland have held talks with Roma over a potential deal to sign Matias Soule in the summer transfer window for £30m.

This newspaper says that an agreement has not yet been made between the two teams, but there is confidence that an agreement can be reached for the Argentine player.

It adds that the Black Cats are also working to reach an agreement with the player in the hope that they can convince him to reject other options on the table in order to move to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland’s pursuit of the 23-year-old striker will come as bad news for Hume as it could mean he ends up as second-choice right-back for the 2026/27 campaign.

As mentioned above, the Northern Irishman is likely to be behind Mukiele at right-back, with the Frenchman blocked in midfield by Dan Ballard and Omar Alderrete.

Now, Soule’s signing could see him drop down the right flank as the £30m star has the quality to provide goals and assists regularly in that position.

The Argentine gem scored 12 goals and provided 12 assists in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 campaigns for Roma, showing that he can contribute goals and assists equally from the right.

Soule also scored 11 goals and registered three assists in Serie A for Frosinone in the 2023/24 season before moving to Roma in the summer of 2024, showing that he has been delivering quality in the final third for the past three seasons.

Despite being unproven in the Premier League, the Roma midfielder’s consistency in one of Europe’s biggest leagues suggests he has a good chance of transferring his form to English football.

Bringing in a full-back who could be a regular starter who offers consistency at that end of the pitch could hurt Hume’s chances of playing in that position regularly in the Premier League next term.

So, it will be interesting to see how many minutes the Northern Ireland man gets next season if he ends up behind Mukiele and Soule, should he sign for the club, in those two positions.