Recap & Rumours: Club braced for Sunderland bid; Bardo linked with return & Sess ponders summer move

Neil Lennon braced for Sunderland bid

Hibs boss Neil Lennon has admitted Sunderland target Jason Cummings could be on his way out of Easter Road this summer if the Scottish club receive an acceptable offer.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Widely linked with a move to the Stadium of Light, striker Cummings has been scouted by David Moyes after he hit 19 goals in the second tier north of the border. His midfield colleague John McGinn - recently awarded PFA Scotland's Championship Player of the Year - has also been linked with Sunderland.

Lennon told the Scottish Sun that the Leith outfit are in no hurry to cash in on their star talent but that should a big offer land, the club would find it difficult to resist:

Everyone has their price. I don't want to sell them. I'm not saying we will sell them.

We are in control - the club. We've got them on long-term contracts but finance may well dictate. If we get big enough offers in, it will give the club something to think about.

Sunderland are said to be readying a bid of £2m for Cummings. The 21-year-old has 3 years left on his contract with Hibs.

Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images

---

Bardsley linked with a return

Former Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley is set for a summer exit from Stoke according to the Daily Mail.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

And the 31-year-old will have a host of suitors if the Potters opt not to take up the 12-month extension option on his current deal which expires this summer. Bardsley has been linked with a return to Sunderland while the likes of Reading, Hull, Brighton and Newcastle have also been credited with an interest.

But Sheffield Wednesday have so far been suggested as leading the race for Bardsley's signature if he departs Stoke at the end of the season.

Making over 170 appearances in his 6 year spell at the Stadium of Light, Bardsley was a regular under Steve Bruce and Martin O'Neill before falling out with disciplinarian Paulo Di Canio. The right-back was restored to the Sunderland side under Gus Poyet before moving to Stoke as a free agent 3 years ago.

---

How about Sessegnon then?

Speaking of players who fell out with Paulo Di Canio, Stephane Sessegon has told the media in France that he will be weighing up his options this summer.

He may have recently said that he should have signed for a bigger club than Sunderland when he crossed the channel in 2011, but most supporters would welcome Sess back to the Stadium of Light for a Championship swansong.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

The Benin playmaker was quoted in the French press over the weekend as saying his future at present club Montpellier is by no means certain.

Under contract until 2018 with the Ligue 1 side - who narrowly escaped relegation this season - Sessegnon said of his prospect of turning out for Montpellier next term:

I do not know if I will be there or not...Everything is now in the hands of the club's leaders - only they will decide if it will happen.

The 32-year-old is supposed to be attracting interest still from clubs in China and in England. Could his former club - Sunderland - be one of them?

---

Fabio Borini can leave for a 'reduced' £6m

Sunderland forward Fabio Borini can leave the club this summer for a reduced fee due to a clause in his contract activated by relegation according to fevered speculation in recent days.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Media reports have continued to claim that Celtic are still in pursuit of the Italian with Brendan Rodgers said to be keen on landing Borini.

Certainly it's understood talks may taken place already with the Scottish champions for the 26-year-old, but Borini has yet to commit to a move north of the border.

Frankly, based on his current standing, Fabio Borini is barely worth £6m and securing that amount for him would probably be considered good business by Sunderland.

The major barrier to any prospective new club capturing his signature is bound to the Italian's wage demands, however. Will Celtic be able to afford the Italian’s demands?

---

A near-miss or a missed long-term opportunity?

Back to the Di Canio era once more and according to a report in Denmark, Sunderland pursued former Cardiff City striker Andreas Cornelius when the player was something of a hot prospect at F.C. Copenhagen.

The Italian is said to have been keen on signing the Danish international during his ill-fated spell as manager at the Stadium of Light in 2013.

Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images

The player who is now 24-years-old joined Cardiff four years ago for a reported £8m and only managed 8 games for the Welsh club before returning to Denmark a little over 6 months later.

The 6ft 4in target man has since hit 28 goals in 87 appearances in the Superliga and has landed a second opportunity to establish himself in a top European league with a summer move to top-six Serie A club, Atalanta, already agreed.