Sunderland’s reputation as arguably the EFL’s greatest developers of young talent exits for a reason.
Amad Diallo, probably Manchester United’s most impressive performer these days, owes much to that outstanding season he spent on loan at the Stadium of Light in 2024/25.
Chris Rigg is reportedly a target for Borussia Dortmund as well as Man United. A testament to how Sunderland have handled the stunning emergence of their homegrown 17-year-old hero.
Jobe Bellingham may join Jude in the England reckoning sooner rather than later, one EFL expert believes, while Dan Neil, Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume have all come on leaps and bounds.
So you can see why Liverpool identified Sunderland as the ideal destination for Cesar Huerta, had the Mexico international made that switch to Anfield towards the end of the summer transfer window.
Regis Le Bris blocked Cesar Huerta’s Sunderland move
Reporter Rodrigo Celorio claimed at the time that Liverpool were ‘very, very close’ to signing Huerta from Pumas UNAM in his native Mexico.
The plan was, he says, to send Huerta to Sunderland for the 2024/25 season. Thus, ensuring that the winger would have access to the sort of regular first-team football he needs to continue his recent development.
The irony, of course, is that Sunderland could do with Huerta now.
A right-footed left-winger, the diminutive 24-year-old would have come in very handy at a time in which Sunderland have lost both Romain Mundle and Tommy Watson to injury. Regis Le Bris confirmed that Watson faces two months out this week, speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Swansea City.
And Cesar Luis Merlo, backing up those previous claims from Celorio, insists that Huerta has Le Bris to blame for that aborted switch across the Atlantic.
“There was an offer from Liverpool, who were willing to buy him and loan him to Sunderland,” Merlo explains on his YouTube channel. “But, in the end, it didn’t happen, because the Sunderland coach did not want to have Huerta.”
Merlo feels that Huerta would have been happy to accept a short spell at Sunderland if that meant he would become a Liverpool player later down the line.
Now, exactly why Regis Le Bris blocked Huerta’s arrival is not quite clear.
Perhaps he felt that Sunderland, when all were fit and available, had enough options on the left. Perhaps he wanted to throw his weight behind Mundle, feeling – rightly so – that the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster had a lot more to offer after a difficult first few months on Wearside.
Pumas UNAM plan to sell Liverpool target in January
Huerta’s contract, meanwhile, expires in the summer of 2025.
As such, the plan is to sell in January. UNAM want to ensure that they can still make a good profit on a player who joined from Guadalajara back in 2022, even if Huerta’s price-tag is now a little lower now than it was back in the summer.
“Chino Huerta has a contract until June of next year with Pumas,” Merlo adds.
“Pumas offered him [the chance] to renew. But the reality is that the player, on good terms, told them that he preferred not to do it.
“There is a commitment that he will not go for free. Therefore, he is going to be sold in the next transfer window.
“The priority of ‘Chino’ Huerta is going to play in Europe. So, Pumas is going to try to facilitate his exit at an affordable price. I don’t want to talk figures but I imagine a price much, much lower than 10 million dollars [£8 million].”
According to reports, Huerta has a release clause of around £4 million in his contract.