Bologna warning to Milan, Sunderland and Roma: ‘No sale without replacement’

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Susy Campanale | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 11:09 AM ET

Claudio Fenucci confirms Milan and Sunderland are pushing for Giovanni Fabbian and Jhon Lucumi respectively, while Roma are interested in Benjamin Dominguez, but Bologna ‘won’t sell unless we can replace them.’

The Rossoblu are at the centre of several transfer stories over the last few days of the summer session, even though they are largely trying to resist the approaches from other clubs in Italy and abroad.

“These are the final days of the window and there can always be new developments,” CEO Fenucci told Sky Sport Italia.

“Over the last few days, there was interest from Milan for Fabbian, then we had to deal with the pressure from Sunderland for Lucumi.

“Now I don’t know if Roma will make an offer for Benjamin Dominguez. We’ll see. What I can say is that we won’t sell unless we can replace them. That goes for everyone.

“The only difference might be the wingers, as we’ve got a lot of them in the squad, but the intention right now is to remain like this.”

Bologna resisting ‘pressure’ for top players

Football Italia had already reported extensively on the Milan pursuit of creative midfielder Fabbian, which was rebuffed repeatedly by the Rossoblu.

Lucumi and his agent are eager to join Sunderland, but Bologna are reticent to lose another defender after selling Sam Beukema to Napoli.

The draw for the Europa League was made today, and Bologna qualified as winners of the Coppa Italia last season.

They will face RB Salzburg, Aston Villa, Celtic, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Freiburg, FCSB, Brann and Celta Vigo in the league phase of the tournament.

“This is our second year in a row in European competition. Last term was a wonderful experience that contributed to raising the level of the team in Serie A too,” continued Fenucci.

“Now we hope to at least reach the play-off stage. We’ve been paired with teams who all have a strong European tradition, so it will not be easy, but we are bolstering the squad to handle potentially 61 games in a season.”

Bologna had been expected to struggle last season in the Champions League, especially after losing coach Thiago Motta and several key players like Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.

Instead, they flourished and won the Coppa Italia, along with a decent European and Serie A showing.

“The foundations remain the same as last season and we want to maintain the same style of football too, with intensity and hard work. There is harmony between the city and the team, with a love for football that we hadn’t seen here in a while,” concluded the chief.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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