Jack Clarke has been heavily connected with moves away from the Stadium of Light, which could happen throughout the summer.
Ballard and Dack could be the next Black Cats to leave, with the former for a fee and the latter for free.
Sunderland may face a slight rebuild in the summer if they sell their finest players for large sums of money in the transfer market – and with Jack Clarke attracting interest from elsewhere, others may be on the move as well.
The Black Cats’ strategy of acquiring young players with the intention of selling them for a high price created a completely different situation than when they were originally relegated to League One.
Entering the third tier with the likes of Bryan Oviedo, Aidan McGeady, and Grant Leadbitter on their books on big wages, club chiefs appear to be keen to avoid that for a second time, and with money pumped into the signings of Clarke, Daniel Ballard, Jobe Bellingham, and Abdoullah Ba, it is a strategy that appears to be working alongside homegrown talents Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, and Chris Rigg.
It was a risky tactic at initially, but with a play-off finish last season and similar goals for this season, there is something to look forward to on Wearside.
Unfortunately, the method requires the Black Cats to be willing to sell their most entertaining players, which appears to be the case with Clarke, who has 15 goals and four assists this season but could leave this summer due to persistent Premier League interest.
The winger may not be the only one to depart the Stadium of Light, therefore we’ve highlighted two more…
Daniel Ballard
Ballard, as previously stated, joined Sunderland from Arsenal at the start of last season, after receiving interest from Burnley and impressing on loan at Millwall.
The Northern Ireland international, 24, has impressed at Sunderland and is a regular feature when fit, so it’s no wonder he’s been linked with a move to Everton.
The Toffees have Jarrad Branthwaite in their ranks and the young centre-back has been superb for Sean Dyche this season, so much so that even Real Madrid have been linked with a move for the former Carlisle United defender.
Reports on Friday claimed that should Branthwaite move on, Everton would consider a move for Ballard, and if Branthwaite does move for the huge fee that has been suggested, the Toffees should have no problem spending some of that on Ballard’s services.
£20million has been quoted for the former Hale End academy product, which would be very hard to turn down.
Bradley Dack
Bradley Dack joined Sunderland at the start of the season under Tony Mowbray after enduring the best years of his career under the former Black Cats boss at Blackburn Rovers; though it hasn’t quite gone to plan for the attacking midfielder.
Though it was only a free transfer, Dack’s production – or lack thereof – for Sunderland means that the move has to be viewed as a disappointment and that he’s likely to move on this summer.
There are youthful players ahead of him in the pecking order, and while he remains a solid backup for the likes of Bellingham, Dack’s career has stalled since leaving Ewood Park, and it would benefit both parties if he left.
The North East club has a one-year extension option, although it is unlikely that they would exercise it.
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