Which players could leave Sunderland soon as their contracts run down?
The January transfer window ended in a surprisingly hectic fashion for Sunderland, but there is potentially more work left to do on the squad.
Simon Adingra was allowed to join AS Monaco on a loan with an option to buy, despite only arriving from Brighton in the summer. He was replaced at the Stadium of Light by Ecuador international Nilson Angulo, who was signed from Belgian giants Anderlecht. Deadline day has now passed, and on the pitch, focus will be on continuing Sunderland’s excellent return to the Premier League, sitting eighth with 36 points from 24 games and an unbeaten home record. Off the pitch, however, work will be going on behind the scenes to address some contract situations within Regis Le Bris’ squad.
Which players could leave Sunderland for free this summer?
Simon Moore (goalkeeper, end of contract)
Bertrand Traore (winger, end of contract)
Lutsharel Geertruida (full-back, loan from RB Leipzig)
Dennis Cirkin (full-back, end of contract)
Dan Neil (midfielder, end of contract)
Harrison Jones (midfielder, end of contract)
Bertrand Traore and Luthsharel Geertruida are certainly the most prominent names that Sunderland could lose this summer. The former is first among Black Cats players this season for successful dribbles per 90 minutes (2), while he also scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 win over Bournemouth at the end of November. The latter, meanwhile, is only on loan from RB Leipzig and almost had his stay cut short in favour of a deadline-day move to Liverpool, but Sunderland blocked the deal. Geertruida has proven himself a valuable and versatile squad member, covering at centre-back, right-back and defensive midfield.
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Elsewhere, Dennis Cirkin was utterly out of favour during the first half of the season, but has picked up much more game time recently. Dan Neil also left on loan for Ipswich Town in January, but the club have already confirmed he won’t return to the Stadium of Light after that temporary spell.
A social media post last week read: “We can today confirm the departure of long-serving midfielder Dan Neil. Neil has joined Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the season, ending his 18-year association with Sunderland at the end of his contract in June.” The rest of the list of Sunderland players in the final six months of their deals is completed by back-up goalkeeper Simon Moore and 21-year-old midfielder Harrison Jones, who has made just seven senior appearances for the club.
Which Sunderland players have 18 months left on their contracts?
There are four other players in the Sunderland squad whose contracts expire in 18 months. Most worrying are the situations of Reinildo Mandava and Luke O’Nien. The former has been ever-present when fit and available at left-back since joining from Atletico Madrid, and even though he turns 33 next season, he’ll expect an extension on current form. As for the latter, he was a key part of Sunderland’s promotion campaign, but has played just 21 minutes of Premier League football this season. He may well seek an exit in the summer if his situation doesn’t improve. Ian Poveda and Abdoullah Ba are the other players whose deals end in the summer of 2027, but Sunderland will likely look to move them out before then.
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