Sunderland have yet another player attracting Premier League interest ahead of the summer.
With Sunderland now sitting in 10th place of the Championship table, and seven points outside the top six, it looks like their promotion hopes are quickly fading.
But several of their players might yet be playing in the Premier League next season.
Jack Clarke is in demand and looks set to seal a big money move this summer. Elsewhere, names like Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, and Pierre Ekwah have all been linked with summer moves.
And now it’s reported that Dan Ballard is wanted for a summer transfer.
Everton eyeing big money swoop for Sunderland defender Dan Ballard
An emerging report from FootballTransfers has claimed that Premier League strugglers Everton are weighing up a summer swoop for Ballard.
Their report claims that the Toffees have been keeping tabs on Ballard since last season, and that Sunderland want €23million (£19.63million) for the former Arsenal man; the same report adds that Sunderland paid just €2.34million (£2million) for Ballard in 2022.
Ballard’s first season at the Stadium of Light was thwarted by injury; he featured just 19 times but has played in 32 of Sunderland’s 33 Championship fixtures this season, proving to be a colossal player at the back.
Ballard importance obvious, but sale fits the model
Ballard has been nothing short of sensational this season, and his two-match suspension starting tomorrow is a blow to interim boss Mike Dodds.
But like with Clarke, and likely is the case with names like Patterson, Neil, and Ekwah; if Sunderland can make a big profit on a player then they will, and they arguably should.
Having not been in the Premier League for a while now, Sunderland don’t have the luxuries of parachute payments and whatnot, so they have to make money in other ways.
And their new model which favours young player purchases is really starting to provide dividends, with Sunderland now having some hugely valuable assets ahead of the summer; if they sold Clarke, Ballard, Neil, Patterson, and Ekwah this summer, they could make up to £100million in player sales.
Obviously, whoever the manager is this summer won’t want to see all the best players leave, and nor will the fans.
And it’s probable that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus wants to keep some of them so that Sunderland still have a play-off worthy side.
So it could be a balancing act for Sunderland in the summer.
Whilst selling players is arguably what they need to do, they also need to be careful which ones they sell; Romaine Mundle’s January arrival could hint at a summer sale of Clarke, which seems inevitable, but with centre-backs thin on the ground, Ballard could be one that the club aims to keep.