Sunderland storm into the race for 19-goal star who Aston Villa have made contact to sign

Sunderland have now entered contention to sign a new striker, but there could be competition from Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

After qualifying for Europe last season, both sides have made relatively slow starts to the Premier League campaign, having taken four points from their opening five matches, although Brian Brobbey has recently been a real bright spark for the Black Cats.

The centre-forward proved his worth by scoring a hat-trick on the road against Manchester City last time out, and he received praise from Marco Gabbiadini, who said: “It was a good performance, as there has been a lot of talk about his goals output. He’s the type of player who has scored goals in the past. His ratio would be one in two, one in three, in his best spells.

“It can happen and he just needs a bit of confidence. He may need to score the odd spectacular goal and trust his shooting more – those goals that come from nothing.”

Villa also appear to have turned the corner goalscoring-wise, having ran out 3-2 winners at Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break.

Before the trip to north London, Unai Emery’s side had scored just one goal in their first four Premier League matches, having struggled in front of goal since losing Ollie Watkins in the summer, but Nicolas Jackson has now scored two goals in all competitions.

However, despite Jackson and Brobbey performing well in front of goal in recent weeks, both sides have now entered contention to sign a new centre-forward.

Sunderland and Aston Villa racing to sign Kevin Viveros

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Sunderland have now stormed into the race to sign Athletico Paranaense striker Kevin Viveros, and the Brazilian club are looking to hold out for £25m – £35m if they are going to sanction a departure.

Viveros is attracting widespread interest, with clubs from Saudi Arabia and Russia also keen, alongside Aston Villa, who have now made initial contact, having sent scouts to watch him in action on a regular basis.

Villa are likely to be impressed by what they’ve seen from the 26-year-old, considering he has been in very impressive form this season, picking up 19 goals in 32 matches across all competitions, during which time he’s also registered four assists.

Athletico Paranaense manager Odair Hellmann has also singled the Colombian out for high praise, saying: “He’s a beast, a monster. He’s evolved a lot technically, he has room to evolve even more, and he’s very humble. He’s introverted, but he’s very humble. For a guy who has already achieved what he has in Brazilian football and for Athletico, he has a lot of humility.”