Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has given an update on the prospect of player sales this summer.
The Black Cats have adopted a model of signing, developing, and then selling top young talents in recent years. The likes of Jordan Pickford, Jordan Henderson, Josh Maja, George Honeyman, Martyn Waghorn and Jack Colback are famous names who have recently all come through the academy at the Stadium of Light.
Even some key players who are a part of the current squad have been linked with moves away, including midfielder duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg. One young player who has already made the move away is 19-year-old Tommy Watson, who has switched the North East for the South Coast, making the move to Brighton and Hove Albion in January.
A Positive Rather Than a Negative
Despite losing key young players being frustrating for the majority of people involved at the football club, Speakman insists that any departures are a testament to Sunderland’s growth, rather than a hindrance.
“I think the sales are important. They’re the by-products of the success, they’re not the focus point. We’re not trying to manufacture players to sell them. We’re trying to give players an opportunity to fulfil their dream. We’re trying to produce a winning team, and if you do both those things and the players are able to compete at the level, then they will have an attraction to other teams and other clubs.
“Like I’ve always said, there will be times where those players will move on and they’ll progress. That’s just the environment, and that’s the industry we operate in. But ultimately we’re about opportunity, believing in the players and trying to build a winning team. And at the minute, I think we’re ticking off all those boxes.“Players have also got a choice what they want to do and the direction that they feel that they need to go in. And like I said, some of those players, it will be with us, and some of those players, it won’t be with us.”
Writer’s View
Sunderland’s model, despite being frustrating at points, is a solid model that the Black Cats have mastered in recent years. However, if Regis Le Bris’ side doesn’t take advantage of the fact that there is a place in the Premier League up for grabs on Saturday, you’d expect quite a few of Sunderland’s key players to be sold in the summer.
As mentioned above, Bellingham and Rigg, alongside multiple other players, have already been linked with summer moves away from the Stadium of Light. This summer could be crucial, and a busy one for Sunderland, as they will look to prepare for next season, whatever league they are in.
