As Premier League interest in many important players grows, Sunderland’s sports director Kristjaan Speakman believes the team is not under any financial pressure to sell players this summer.
Speakman stated that supporters may have faith in the club based on its performance in previous transfer windows, although he refrained from completely ruling out potential summer departures. Since the ownership changed a few years ago, only one major player has been traded: Ross Stewart, a striker who was about to reach the final year of his contract.
Jack Clarke is in high demand, and Jobe Bellingham is drawing interest not only from Crystal Palace but from all over top tiers in Europe.
“I think it’s really difficult to predict what will happen through the summer,” said Speakman.
“All I think I can say about player retention is that we’ve done a really good job of it so far. Naturally, the news that young Chris [Rigg] signed this week was excellent; in my opinion, it confirms and echoes everything we’ve said thus far. As I’ve stated before, we’ll just take each item of interest and each conversation that arises as it arises. It’s really, really hard to forecast, and I understand that you want some assurance as a supporter. The risk associated with the transfer window, in my opinion, is that it’s an unpredictable time of year, but keeping our talent has always been our goal.
“I don’t really read the news stuff, so I can’t really comment on it regarding Jobe. He’s one of many excellent players we have, and the bonus of having a talented bunch is that there will always be interest. I don’t really know too much about what’s out there. However, as I’ve previously stated, I would much rather have a ton of interest in our exceptional players than find it difficult to identify talented members of our team. I won’t get into the specifics because those things are always subject to change and modification. However, as I previously stated, I can restate our approach and our goal of keeping our best employees.”
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