(Credit: Hasan Karim)
(Credit: Hasan Karim)

Vladyslav Vanat transfer twist emerges as Sunderland ready new signing

Alex Charlton

Alex is a lifelong Sunderland supporter who's been reporting on Mackem News since April 2025. Indeed, he started working for Breaking Media in April and has since graduated from St Mary's University as a NCTJ Gold Standard-accredited journalist, having completed his Master's degree in Sports Journalism. Alex previously worked for Football League World and has featured on the Roker Report, providing his opinion on all things Sunderland. While getting to the games is tricky, given his job, one of the highlights of his life was watching (and crying) as the Black Cats defeated Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium last season.

Published on

Sunderland are eyeing a prolific goalscorer to aid their ambition of Premier League survival next season.

The Black Cats already possess Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor, but want more firepower to support them at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are favourites to sign Dynamo Kyiv striker Vladyslav Vanat, and he fits the bill, having scored 17 league goals last campaign.

However, it is unknown if the Black Cats are prepared to pay that much for the Ukrainian international.

Vladyslav Vanat Sunderland
Vanat has two international goals to his name (Credit: Imago)

Sunderland unlikely to pay Vladyslav Vanat fee

That would eclipse the £19.6million spent by the Black Cats on Enzo Le Fee, who has arrived permanently from AS Roma.

Mackem News exclusively provided insight from Ukrainian outlet Zorya Londonsk, who said the Wearsiders would be overpaying with that figure.

Vladyslav Vanat's 2024/25 Premier League statisticsTotal
Appearances28
Goals17
Goal conversion35%
Assists4
Accurate passes10.1 (74%)
Successful dribbles1.3 (71%)
Vanat has some impressive statistics (Sofascore)

Now, their words have been backed up by TaToTake (22 June), a popular Ukrainian talk show and podcast.

They reiterate that Vanat's clause is £17million, lower than first suggested, but it is unlikely the Black Cats will pay that much for Vanat.

TaToTake said: "It doesn't seem like an obvious transfer."

Whether there is truth to that statement or not, Kristjaan Speakman will want to negotiate a fee that reflects the player's ability.

Would Vanat be an upgrade on Black Cats' current crop?

When looking at Vanat's numbers, he clearly has an eye for the goal.

The 23-year-old has netted 43 goals in his last three league terms, which is promising, especially as there are eight fewer games in a domestic season.

As for Mayenda, he bagged 10 goals during the league and play-off campaigns combined, though his influence went much further than statistics.

By contrast, Isidor finished the season as Sunderland's top goalscorer with 12 league goals, although he went missing for substantial spells.

Of course, the Ukrainian Premier Liga cannot be compared to England, but Vanat has been a consistent scorer for several seasons.

Now, Speakman must decide how much he is willing to pay for the Dynamo Kyiv man.

Sign up for the Mackem News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest,
breaking Sunderland AFC news sent straight to your phone.

www.mackemnews.com