Calum Mills says…
The loss of ‘vibesman’ Leo Hjelde is a bit sad.
No darting run away from the front post means no Dan Ballard header and that trip to Wembley! He had a few bright sparks in red and white — particularly his debut away to Middlesbrough — but other than that, he was an extra body in the squad.
Thomas Meunier could be seen as a replacement for Hjelde as he can play anywhere across the back three or four. However, I think we’re going to see another big-name centre back join us before the end of the window.
I don’t see Abdoullah Ba as a loss to the squad. He’s not been seen in a Sunderland shirt apart from a couple of academy fixtures last season or whilst doing some fitness work on holiday this pre-season.
There are players in our academy side such as Timur Tutierov, Jack Whittaker or Charlie Dinsdale that are light years ahead of him in terms of quality and more likely to contribute to the first team this season. News coming from Portugal seems to suggest that Geny Catamo is a done deal, who’s not going to have to do much to fill the boots of Ba!
Arthur Masuaku…what could’ve been.
A player with experience across top leagues in Europe but who came in with a reputation as a bomb scare, according to West Ham fans, and it became pretty apparent that this was true in his debut away to Nottingham Forest.
He got forward well and he could put a cross in but was awful defensively. After being strongly linked with Dayann Méthalie of Toulouse, I would imagine that’s who we’re bringing him to replace him. I wish him well, though, as he did at least try when given a chance.
Lastly, Anthony Patterson. I don’t think we should let him go.
I’m not convinced by Melker Ellborg, which is harsh because he’s had limited time on the pitch, but when we’ve seen of him, I thought he was slow to move the ball and had been closed down, and then there was that calamitous goal we conceded last week against Leeds (I don’t care what anyone says, you shouldn’t be beaten by a daisy-cutter from forty yards out).
Without some of Patto’s saves in the Championship, we don’t get to Wembley. He’s also a homegrown player which would go towards our quota in the Europa League, if I’m not mistaken.
There are a few more players that may have kitted up for us for the last time — Jenson Seelt and Ali Alese. But time will tell on both of them due to age and nationality, and Alan Browne could be someone we don’t necessarily let go of due to his experience.
According to reports, if he’d signed for Preston six months earlier, he’d have been classed as a homegrown player too! On his day, he’s a classy midfielder but I think the rigours and intensity of the Premier League are too much for him.
David Elliott says…
I’m fully on board with the club’s stance at present. I have trust and confidence in Régis Le Bris and Florent Ghisolfi, and what they’re trying to do regarding building the squad for the considerable challenges that lie ahead in the coming season.
It was clear that there were a number of players on the books that were surplus to requirements, weren’t getting game time and probably wouldn’t cut it consistently at the level needed in the Premier League and Europe. We now seem to be at the point where there are just a few fringe players left and decisions need to be taken on their future.
I like Leo Hjelde but I’m not convinced that he had what it takes to slot in the way Luke O’Nien can, and do a job for us. He deserves more game time and I hope it works out for him.
Abdoullah Ba was never going to feature and although Arthur Masuaku looked fine in the World Cup, I don’t see him being missed too much. Patto is the difficult one — he’s an able backup keeper but he won’t want to be keeping the bench warm, which is fair enough.
It makes sense to me to trim the squad rather than have an unhealthy number which includes passengers who are not going to play.
Le Bris seems very keen on creating a tight group — think of how often he talks about “family and connections”. I don’t know if I’m just being naive here or looking through rose-tinted glasses, but it never ceases to surprise me how much this group of players gets on together.
The recent video of players returning to the Academy shows genuine pleasure and excitement at being back together. That sense of togetherness is a major factor in our recent success and Le Bris will not compromise on maintaining that for signings that don’t buy into Sunderland and the project.
Yes, it’s going to be tough but I do feel the club is on the right track.
Ewan Bowman says…
I feel this shows the club’s approach to the whole summer window: moving on players that are surplus to requirements and aiming to sign quality players that’ll make us better overall.
Last summer, we not only signed quantity but quality. Apart from one or two, every new signing was a success and this summer’s approach was always going to be different.
The outgoings will give us more room in terms of FFP to go after the players we want.
We need four to five quality players signed before the window is done to help us on both the domestic and European front. It’ll be a fascinating last few weeks of the window and ones I’m looking forward to.
Jack Howe-Gingell says…
I feel like some of our outgoing activity suggests clear focus and quality over quantity, which I think aligns with the approach both Régis Le Bris and Florent Ghisolfi have spoken about since arriving at the club.
They generally have a preference for a leaner, more manageable squad, rather than carrying players unlikely to make a contribution. What was particularly telling however, was Le Bris’ stance on Wilson Isidor, recently.
He’s normally very measured when discussing players publicly, so his outright insistence that Isidor wasn’t leaving felt significant and it underlined the importance coaching staff place on maintaining sufficient depth — in this case, in forward areas.
This creates an interesting balancing act.
We absolutely must keep raising the quality level of the squad to remain competitive this season, but we also can’t afford to trim the numbers more aggressively. The Europa League will provide a demanding schedule and rotation will be essential if standards are to be kept high. There’s also the quandary over more homegrown players as rules dictate, with our numbers being on the low side.
For me, the objective has to be trimming the fringe, but we need genuine competition for places and trusted options throughout.
Failing to prepare, prepare to fail — the extra workload must be taken seriously. The current squad is very talented and they’re the reason we find ourselves in this position at all, but we can’t allow them to be run into the ground or the season itself may stall before it’s begun.
John Wilson says…
I totally get Régis Le Bris’ and Florent Ghisolfi’s stance on a smaller squad compared to a full, bloated one.
I’m not sure I understand the clamour to fill every allowed spot — especially for example, in the Europa League. I understand the need for cover and injuries but no team actually uses or indeed, needs, a squad of twenty five for the competition.
There’ll be rotation aplenty for the early stages of the League Cup and possibly the FA Cup. Many players will be able to cope with playing fifty games or more, and a replacement here and a rotation there is all that’s needed to keep the cohesion and tight unity and understanding of the team at a high level.
Bringing players in for the sake of it is being overblown. Being allowed a squad of twenty five doesn’t mean we need a squad of twenty five, and I’d be quite happy with us utilising around thirty players this season in all competitions.
A dreadful run of injuries aside, this would usually be adequate and having players around that make up the numbers is pointless.
There’s a deep discussion to be had around who’s useful and who are makeweights. Leo Hjelde, Arthur Masuaku and Abdoullah Ba I would put in the latter category, but others like Jenson Seelt, Aji Alese and Alan Browne are less obvious for a role they could play.
Malc Dugdale says…
I have to say that I’m not surprised that Leo Hjelde and Abdoullah Ba are on their way, but for me the fact we are also offloading Arthur Masuaku and Anthony Patterson just now speaks volumes.
Whilst Masuaku struggled to get a lot of time in the side last season, he’s well established player at the top level with over 130 appearances in League 1 and the Premier league between Valenciennes and West Ham alone.
As a player that can play full back and centre back, you’d think we may keep him around as an option in case needed, especially with doubts over Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete.
Moving Masuaku on at this stage suggests to me we have some much better options to take his place lined up and ready, and with the record we have in the market, it’s very exciting to see what comes along.
With Patterson, it looks like our own Wembley hero will bring in close to £10 million — a great return for a local lad who’s third choice and really deserves a chance to kick on. For me, the jury is out whether Patto should be our number two, but the club clearly see a future for both of Robin Roefs and Melker Ellborg, and I’m sure we’ll have suitable options for a third-choice keeper well in hand.
These moves maturing now show me that the slight concern is about to be eased regarding a lack of signings this summer.
The domino effect you see every season is under way for us now and I can’t wait to see which unknown wonderkids and experienced quality additions are about to don that beautiful new red and white Hummel garment.
Owen Sara says…
This would indicate to me that incomings are pretty much done.
We usually operate a “one in and one out” policy, so to see such a mass exodus would point to deals being close.
It’s been repeated in the media we only want three or four additions and this suggests that it’s going to be quality over quantity, so maybe a group of eighteen or nineteen players that Régis Le Bris can get the best out of and rotate throughout the season.
It’s certainly going to be a lot more precise than last summer, and we’ll target a very specific profile of player.
Ricky Clucas says…
First off, hats off to our newly-hired outgoing transfer guru for not coasting during his initial onboarding period and getting stuck straight in.
A lot of these outgoings just had to happen, irrespective of our plans for this season.
There are fringe players and there are some of these lads. Wish them well and there’s no hard feelings, but we’ve outgrown them so much it’s actually a bit head-spinning. I haven’t had a fringe for nigh on twenty years and I reckon I’m closer to getting the nod from Régis Le Bris than Abdoullah Ba was.
More than anything for me, rather than speaking to what kind of targets we’ve got, it’s just another reminder of how efficient everything seems to be about the club these days (ticketing aside).
The one exception to the above is definitely Patto if his move to Wrexham does finally come to fruition. He’s a fantastic servant and he played a huge part in our resurgence.
I understand he wants to play, otherwise he’d have been a great option as Robin Roefs’ backup, with him being homegrown. It just feels like the right time to part ways for all parties, which hasn’t always been the case with Sunderland’s outgoings over the years.
Go well!
Will Patterson says…
I don’t think anyone is shocked at some of the departures.
I never thought Abdoullah Ba was up to much in the Championship. He lacked the promise you can see in a player like Romaine Mundle, and Leo Hjelde was another who needed to go. I’m not entirely sure what I can say about him, but he was certainly a footballer for Sunderland.
For me, the departures of Anthony Patterson and Arthur Masuaku are indications of where Sunderland are.
There’s little room for sentiment at the top and whilst Patto has facilitated some amazing memories, the difference in quality between himself and Robin Roefs is vast. Masuaku was an odd deal at the time, clearly brought in to flesh out the squad, and he looked out of place when he got his chances.
For me, this is about standard setting. We’re not a club that’s going to accept sub-par levels where we need them, and if you’re in the squad, you need to be raising levels in some form.
Luke O’Nien recently spoke about how important Simon Moore was during the promotion season, and those are the characters we need if you’re not contributing on the pitch.
There’s a world of young, hungry players that are talented enough and would sacrifice a lot to play both in the Premier League and in Europe. Of course we need a balance, but we’ve set a bar that you need to reach in order to get into this squad. Long may it continue.
