Sunderland have made a promising start to the 2023/24 season, but the club will soon have to make important decisions regarding several of their first-team and youth players.
Despite the fact that the Black Cats have secured long-term contracts for some of their important players in recent months, some members of the senior squad have entered the final year of their current contracts.
Other clubs may be interested in signing him during the January transfer window.
Here are the senior Sunderland players and some of the club’s most highly-rated academy players who will be out of contract this summer:
1. Patrick Roberts
Following transfer interest from Southampton over the summer, Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has confirmed the Black Cats have begun contract talks with the 26-year-old winger. Roberts has been a key player for Sunderland under Tony Mowbray in the Championship, yet it’s unclear if Southampton’s offer will make negotiations more challenging.
2. Alex Pritchard
Mowbray admitted before the end of the transfer window he expected Pritchard to leave the club. The 30-year-old playmaker did come back into Sunderland’s side before picking up a calf injury, yet it seems unlikely he’ll be offered a new deal before his contract expires at the end of the season.
3. Bradley Dack
Dack signed a one-year contract at the Stadium of Light when he joined the club in the summer, with a club option of an extra year. After two ACL injuries during his time at Blackburn, Sunderland will be assessing the 29-year-old’s contributions. Dack had made four league appearances, scoring once, before picking up a hamstring injury earlier this month.
4. Corry Evans
Despite being sidelined with an ACL injury, Evans signed a new deal at Sunderland in February, which will run until next summer – with a club option of an extra year. With the 33-year-old set to be sidelined until the end of this year, it seems likely this will be his last season at the club following a lengthy setback.
5. Mason Burstow
Sunderland were trying to sign the striker permanently from Chelsea over the summer, yet The Blues would only sanction a loan move. The 20-year-old should receive regular game time at Sunderland, where he’s made six consecutive starts, and will assess his options at the end of the season.
6. Ellis Taylor
After making his senior debut for Sunderland as an 18-year-old two years ago, Taylor has been on the fringes of the Black Cats’ first team. The 20-year-old made just eight appearances during a loan spell at Hartlepool last season and has captained Sunderland’s under-21s side this season, while being named on the bench for the senior side.
7. Michael Spellman
Spellman joined Sunderland from non-league side Chester-le-Street in 2022 and has been a regular for the Black Cats’ under-21s team over the last two seasons. The 21-year-old made his senior debut during a Carabao Cup match at Sheffield Wednesday last season, his only appearance for the first team, and signed a one-year contract extension with the club over the summer.
8. Harry Gardiner
The young forward also signed a one-year contract extension at Sunderland in the summer, after impressing for the club’s under-21s side last season. Now 20, Gardiner has scored four goals in six appearances for the Black Cats’ under-21s side this season but is yet to be named in a senior matchday squad.
9. Caden Kelly
Kelly is one of Sunderland’s academy players who was regularly training with the first team last season, while playing regularly for the under-21s team. The 19-year-old forward has made two appearances for the senior side, one of which came in the Carabao Cup against Sheffield Wednesday last season, but has been sidelined with an injury at the start of this campaign.
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