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Sunderland have confirmed their retained and released list following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season. Club captain Dan Neil, Dennis Cirkin, Bertrand Traore and Niall Huggins will all leave Sunderland, while the remainder of the first-team squad has been retained.
Neil departs after making more than 200 appearances for the Black Cats and captaining the club back to the Premier League.
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Cirkin also leaves after five years on Wearside, having played 120 games and helped Sunderland rise from League One to the top flight.
Traore moves on after a single season at the Stadium of Light, while Huggins departs after joining in 2021. The full-back won the club’s Goal of the Season award in 2023/24 for his strike against Watford.
At academy level, Oliver Bainbridge, Marshall Burke, Dan Cameron, Thomas Lavery, Elias Lenz, Ethan Moore, Adam Richardson, Rhys Walsh and Jake Waters will leave the club this summer. Second-year scholars Ivan Struk and George Bell have also departed the Academy of Light.
Sunderland have officially confirmed that they remain in discussions with Lutsharel Geertruida, who spent the 2025/26 season on loan at the Stadium of Light from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Geertruida racked up 31 appearances for the Black Cats last season. Liverpool explored a loan move for Lutsharel Geertruida towards the end of the January transfer window, but a deal failed to materialise.
The Dutch defender previously spent three seasons working under former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot at Feyenoord before joining RB Leipzig in 2024.
Liverpool’s defensive options were stretched last term, with right-backs Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong sidelined through injury. The absence of Giovanni Leoni also left the Reds short of cover at centre-back behind Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
Geertruida has received a late call-up to the Netherlands squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 25-year-old, who has won 21 international caps, replaces Arsenal defender Jurriën Timber, who has been ruled out of the tournament through injury.
The Netherlands begin their Group F campaign against Japan on Sunday before facing Sweden and Tunisia in their remaining group-stage fixtures.
Geertruida’s inclusion means Sunderland will have 12 players representing their countries at the World Cup in North America.