One Sunderland ace looks extremely ‘unlikely’ to stay at the club beyond this summer.
Sunderland‘s poor transfer business over the last few windows has resulted in a rather disastrous second campaign in the Championship.
The Black Cats massively exceeded expectations last time out and really needed to build on that this time round, bringing in a proven goalscorer, as well as balancing out some experience with some more exciting young players.
However, the club went onto offload the likes of Danny Batth and Alex Pritchard, while continuing to sign a number of teenagers with very little experience in senior football.
The team certainly felt the effects of this poor decision-making this season and have been on the decline.
Kristjaan Speakman will now have to make alterations to his transfer policy and complete another squad overhaul this summer if he is to get the team on their feet again.
While the sporting director has mainly taken charge in the transfer window, it is believed that Tony Mowbray was allowed to add one of his own players to the squad last summer that went against the ‘model’, and that was Bradley Dack.
Sunderland flop ‘unlikely’ to stay
Dack is the only player over the age of 24 that we have signed since 2022, arriving on a free transfer after he was released by Blackburn Rovers last year.
The midfielder had impressed under Mowbray during his time at Rovers, but had struggled with injuries and was no longer able to claw his way back into the starting line-up.
Dack has had similar problems at Sunderland, missing around four months of action due to a thigh problem, managing only five starts since moving to the Stadium of Light.
The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract last summer, meaning his time at the club will end in a couple of months.
According to journalist James Copley of the Sunderland Echo, Sunderland are ‘unlikely’ to trigger an extension in Dack’s deal, meaning he will probably leave on a free transfer.
Will Bradley Dack still leave a gap?
It was previously reported that Dack is raking in around £15k-per-week on Wearside, which would mean the Black Cats will have coughed up over £700,000 in wages by the time he leaves the club.
Sunderland fans were prepared to give Dack a chance when he arrived, but he always seemed like a huge risk given his injury record.
It seemed to be the one pass Tony Mowbray was allowed during his time on Wearside, and he certainly proved why he should not be left alone to handle our transfer business.
Dack does remain one of our few ‘senior’ players at the club though, so his departure will make our need for more experienced players even more clear.
Though let’s make sure to go for quality not just age, while we already have enough injury-prone stars as it is.