Sunderland are interested in signing RB Leipzig youngster Elias Lenz in the summer transfer window, according to German outlet Bild.
The midfielder is set to leave the Bundesliga club after featuring in the last game of the season for their under-19s against Werder Bremen, and he is part of the 11 youth players on their way out.
Lenz has already had a trial in the form of a training session with Sunderland, and it appears the Black Cats are set to land him for free.
The teenage sensation is the captain of Leipzig under-19s and has been with the Germans since 2016 but is now set to leave for the Championship outfit.
Lenz is yet to make his senior team debut for Leipzig and will be linking up with the Sunderland youth team if he completes a move.
The 6ft 1in midfielder has played 49 games for Leipzig under-19s including 23 in the A-Junioren Bundesliga North-Northeast League, scoring once, and he will hope he did enough during his trial to convince Sunderland he deserves a contract.
Lenz knows the Stadium of Light outfit could offer him a pathway to Premier League football going forward, and completing such a move would appeal to him.
Sunderland could only secure a 16th-place finish this term despite narrowly missing out on a place in the final of the promotion play-offs last season, and manager Mike Dodds will be desperate to ensure they earn promotion next season.
While signing youth players ahead of next season will not appeal to most of the supporters, recruiting youngsters with potential remains a model Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman will continue to follow given the benefits it can yield going forward.
Major signings are also expected in the summer transfer window as Sunderland look to bolster their squad for another promotion push, and fans will be eagerly waiting to see who arrives in the coming weeks and months.
