Sunderland looked at the prospect of signing a Premier League loan player, and they came close to some top players in the 2017/18 season.
The disastrous 2017/18 Championship campaign saw Sunderland suffer a double relegation, with their being no stability on-and-off the pitch for the Black Cats to sustain themselves in the second-tier.
Financial issues that preceded Ellis Short revoking additional funding to the club saw Sunderland strapped to the bare bones when it came to making deals in the summer transfer window in the build-up to the season.
Martin Bain targeted two strikers as shown on Sunderland ‘Til I Die, but were unable to confirm a deal for either, whilst a limited budget meant that they had to delve into the Premier League loan market.
The list of players conjured up by the recruitment staff found 13 Premier League players who have since went on and had differing levels of success, but there are some names that have really reached the heights.
The 13 Premier League players that Sunderland were linked with in 2017/18 season
Sunderland’s strict budget meant that they had to conjure up a list of Premier League players, some youngsters, and some with vast experience at Championship level.
| Player | Club (2017) | Club (now) |
| Ainsley Maitland-Niles | Arsenal | Olympique Lyon |
| Dan Gosling | Bournemouth | Free agent |
| Emerson Hyndman | Bournemouth | Free agent |
| Ashley Westwood | Burnley | Charlotte FC |
| Dean Marney | Burnley | Retired |
| Beram Kayal | Brighton | Free agent |
| Jordon Mutch | Crystal Palace | Free agent |
| Marko Grujic | Liverpool | FC Porto |
| Ovie Ejaria | Liverpool | Free agent |
| Matthew James | Leicester City | Wrexham |
| Daniel Amartey | Leicester City | Free agent |
| Scott McTominay | Man United | Napoli |
| Will Hughes | Watford | Crystal Palace |
The two names that stick out straight away are both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Scott McTominay, both of which have went on to have brilliant careers so far, with the latter becoming a prominent and key player for Napoli and Scotland.
Of course, Sunderland also dodged a few bullets in that list, with it clear that the likes of Dean Marney and Jordon Mutch wouldn’t have added too much to former boss Simon Grayson’s side.
Out of the 13 names, it was Liverpool youngster Ovie Ejaria who was brought in for the season.
The Black Cats were destined for disaster amid financial woes
Sunderland were always going to struggle in the 2017/18 Championship season because of the blend of financial troubles, unsettled players, and vast expectations from the fans to deliver, but the destruction that saw Ellis Short cut funding was the tip of the iceberg that swung any likelihood of survival out of the likely.
Thankfully, because of vast improvements off the pitch, Sunderland now find themselves back where they belong, and that is with a battling chance to return to the Premier League, but it has taken a lot of repairing for Kirstjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to get th club back into a positive state.