Reports: Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Bournemouth interested in making move for former Linfield star

The 22-year-old, who progressed through the ranks at Ballymena United and the Blues before making a senior Premiership debut against Cliftonville in April 2019, made more tackles (97) than any other Championship player last season and starred in all 46 league matches during 2023/24.

Football Insider are reporting that Hume’s performances have caught the attention of both Aston Villa and Bournemouth with the duo ready to pursue a potential summer transfer.

The Northern Ireland international made a move to the Stadium of Light from Windsor Park in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee, signing an initial four-and-a-half year contract and last summer penned a fresh deal which extended his Sunderland stay until the summer of 2027, with the option for a further year.

“Trai was very patient in his first twelve months and worked tirelessly to refine his game,” said Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman at the time. “Since the new year he’s gone from strength to strength, grown in confidence and his performances merit an improved and extended contract.

"He’s a great example of what’s possible at Sunderland AFC for young players and we are all really pleased for him and naturally pleased for ourselves that he’s committing to the club.”

Hume helped Sunderland secure promotion from League One after arriving and then became a mainstay of the team under Tony Mowbray, who was replaced on a permanent basis by former Rangers boss Michael Beale in December – a tenure which lasted only two months.

Mike Dodds has stepped in as interim manager on two occasions during Hume’s time at the club and he said in April that the former Slemish College student was “a Premier League player in waiting” while also predicting a bright future for international teammate Dan Ballard.

“Trai is a real positive to the recruitment of this football club,” he said. “You sign him for, and I mean with his the greatest of respect, what is essentially peanuts in the modern-day market and for me he's one of the best full-backs in the league.

"The fact that he can keep churning out games and minutes says everything about his mentality. He is going to need that summer break and he is one of the players who we are really mindful of internally, but I can't really take him out of the team because he is so influential to the team.

"He's a huge, huge asset and one the club needs to do everything to keep for as long as possible. I said to Dan a few weeks back that I saw him as a potential future international captain and Trai took real offence to that! So those two are going to have a little bit of a fight for that in the future.

“If they stay injury free, they are Premier League players in waiting and they are going to accumulate a huge amount of international caps.

"They're both massively important to us and there is going to be a lot of interest at Premier League level if we don't get there ourselves at some point, because that's the quality they both have.”