Dennis Cirkin’s Sunderland future remains uncertain as the Black Cats prepare for another major summer
Julio Arca believes Sunderland will “probably try to keep” Dennis Cirkin this summer, though the former Black Cats favourite admits the player’s own desire for regular football could be key.
Cirkin’s future is one of the situations to watch as Sunderland prepare for another important summer after securing Europa League qualification. The 24-year-old remains a popular figure with supporters and has played a major role in the club’s rise from League One to the Premier League, but his campaign was disrupted by injury, and he made just eight Premier League appearances.
The left-back was named on the bench for Sunderland’s historic final-day win over Chelsea, with Régis Le Bris’ side sealing a seventh-placed finish and European football for the first time since 1973-74. Arca, who spoke on the Disco Pants Podcast, knows plenty about playing on the left side for Sunderland and remains an admirer of Cirkin.
Asked whether he would be trying to keep Cirkin if he was in charge, Arca said: “Well, I think it will depend on the players, as a player, you want to play as many games as you want, as you can. And we have competition in front, so it will depend. I mean, he's young, I don't know how old he is, but he's 24.”
When it was put to Arca that Cirkin feels older because he has been at Sunderland for some time, the former midfielder added: “Yeah, he's been a while here. But yes, I believe the manager will probably try to keep the player because he can play left-back, he can play, you know, even higher up in the team. But we'll see. We'll see what happens.”
Reinildo Mandava’s arrival and form changed the picture on the left side of defence, with Arca impressed by the Mozambican international. However, he also stressed that he still rates Cirkin highly. “He's been really good,” Arca said of Reinildo. “I like him, I like Cirkin as well. I think he's a good left-back as well.
“Obviously slightly different than Reinildo because he's more like up and down all the time, and he's got that energy that never stops running. But it's a good competition there for the left-back position, and the times that one was injured and the other one had to play, I think he performed as well.”
He added: “I mean, when you're looking at the team from the keeper, obviously, the keeper has a really good season. “Then the centre-backs, you know, the key, I've seen the key players in the team, normally the keeper, centre-back, midfielder and striker.
“And when you look at that line, obviously, the keeper has done really well, the centre-back has done really well. Then obviously he got Xhaka in the middle and then Brobbey, he just became better and better the last, probably, couple of months. He became more confident, and he's a strong boy as well, you know, he can hold the ball, he can just push people anywhere he wants.
“So it will be good to see, you know, what the manager is looking to do next season. Is he looking to play the same system, or is he looking to get someone else to play alongside him, where he can hold the ball, and then you have someone else, more like a goal scorer? Because obviously he scored goals but not probably as many as, you know, other strikers in the Premier League.”
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