Sunderland: Mike Dodds on ‘divisive’ transfer model

differ, he thinks he would rather concentrate on the club’s recruiting successes than its failures.

The Black Cats have prioritized acquiring young, undiscovered players who can be developed into

Wearside mainstays for the first squad during the past two seasons.

The model has come under fire this season as Sunderland has failed to acquire a much-needed,

experienced center-forward throughout the last three transfer windows, and the Black Cats appear to be

far from victorious in their attempt to duplicate their top six Championship result from the previous

year.

Dodds acknowledges the criticism but argues that Sunderland should also be commended for some of its

hiring decisions, including the acquisition of Jack Clarke, who has made a name for himself as one of the

premier players in the second tier, Dan Ballard, and Jobe Bellingham.

Additionally, he thinks the Black Cats should be pleased with their recent track record of producing

academy players, as seen by Chris Rigg’s breakthrough in the last 12 months and the arrivals of Dan Neil

and Anthony Patterson as regulars on the first squad.