Sunderland have been encouraged to offer one out-of-contract star a new deal this summer.
Sunderland only have a few players whose contracts are set to expire at the end of the season, though they certainly won’t be the only players leaving the club.
A disastrous season ending in a bottom-half finish is likely to bring on a complete overhaul of the squad, with the likes of Luis Hemir and Jewison Bennette likely to be loaned out.
The Black Cats will also see Callum Styles and Mason Burstow’s loan spells come to an end, with neither of them particularly impressing during their time at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland do have the option to extend Styles’ contract, while Burstow hasn’t even stepped foot on the pitch since the 0-0 stalemate against QPR last month.
Bradley Dack will see his deal expire after only one year, and his injury problems and poor form is likely to see him head straight for the door.
Corry Evans‘ future could be a difficult decision for the club though, with the ‘brilliant‘ captain returning from over a year on the sidelines earlier this month.
Sunderland extended his stay last summer as he looked to recover from his long-term injury, but it is unclear whether he will be allowed to find a new club this time round.
“I’d be quite tempted to see if Evans wants to stay on”
Despite his lengthy spell on the sidelines and his 34th birthday on the horizon, journalist Phil Smith believes Sunderland should keep hold of him.
Speaking on the Sunderland Echo’s YouTube channel, Smith said: “Evans is the interesting one for me because he’s been out for a while, but he’s now been back in training for about five weeks.
“I think he’s looked quite sharp in the two games he’s come on, I don’t think he looks like someone who’s been out for a long time. He’s so experienced and he’s so effective at what he does. I think he’s probably still got something to offer.
“Because Sunderland haven’t really replaced him since he got injured, if they’re not going to sign a replacement then I’d quite like him to stay on because of what he brings to the dressing room, and also because tactically he also gives you a completely different option to anybody else in the squad.
“So if Evans was to go and Sunderland were to bring in a similar kind of player and a similarly experienced player, then I would kind of understand that, but if they’re not going to recruit a similar kind of player then I’d be quite tempted to see if Evans wants to stay on.
“But I have to say, I think it’s more likely that we won’t see all four of them [Evans, Styles, Dack & Burstow] that we won’t see them in a red and white shirt next year. I definitely think Styles and Evans are the two more likely, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
We would be making a mistake to get rid of another leader
Corry Evans may struggle to get back to the form that saw him earn a regular spot in Sunderland’s starting line-up, but I think we should really be offering him a new deal for his leadership and experience alone.
Ideally, I would still like to bring someone in that can play that holding role that isn’t approaching 34 years old, but to have Evans’ personality in the dressing room and perhaps help out coaching the younger ones would be really valuable to us.
It all depends on our summer transfer plans, but if we are going to be stupid enough to carry on offloading our older players and replacing them with teenagers, then we are in big trouble before we have even begun.
