Sunderland have secured another piece of transfer business
Milan Aleksić has joined Polish top-tier club Cracovia on loan for the 2025/26 campaign.
The Polish club have also confirmed that they have an option-to-buy clause as part of the loan deal. A statement on the club’s website reads: “The 20-year-old Serbian midfielder joins on a one-year loan from Sunderland, and Cracovia also reserves the option to buy the player at the end of the loan period,”
Aleksić was a significant acquisition for Sunderland last summer, who beat significant competition from across Europe to sign him. However, he struggled for regular game time in his first campaign on Wearside, as he understandably went through a process of adjusting to a new league and a new language. Sunderland believe he has the potential to be a top-tier player, but want him to secure regular game time.
Cracovia are high in the Polish league table after the opening weeks of the campaign, and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman believes it’s a move that should allow him to develop.
“At 20 years of age, Milan is a player who possesses the potential to progress to the next level, but to do this, he needs regular games in an appropriate environment,” Speakman said.
“Cracovia have made a positive start to the season domestically, and this move will provide Milan with the platform he needs at this moment in time. We wish him and Cracovia well, as they challenge for the Polish title.”
The Sunderland players who could still leave in the coming days
Aleksić joins Nazariy Rusyn in making the loan switch to Poland, after the striker joined Arka Gdynia. Sunderland would also like to find a loan move for Ahmed Abdullahi, who was close to joining Ligue 1 side Angers on deadline day before the deal fell through due to financial restrictions imposed on the French club.
Teams in Belgium and Poland will must finalise their business by the deadline on September 8th. The following day, September 9th, will see the transfer window shut for clubs in Czechia, Romania, and Switzerland. On September 10th, Saudia Arabia will follow suit. Two of the latest deadlines will pass in Turkey and Greece, on September 11th and September 12th respectively. Mexico’s window will shut even later still, on September 13th.
Ideally, Sunderland would also like to find new clubs for Abdoullah Ba, Jay Matete, Timothee Pembele, Joe Anderson and Ian Poveda, though so far this has proved challenging.
There could also be some movement on the loan front when it comes to the National League, which remains an open option for some of the talented young players in Sunderland's ranks. Harrison Jones would be one obvious contender for such a move, though the club and player may instead choose to wait until January for an EFL move.
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