Report names three players Sunderland hope to keep, including alleged Wednesday target

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Sunderland are in League One these days so a number of their key players have been linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light.

There is no shortage of players that Sunderland would be happy to say farewell to this summer.

The Black Cats will be waiting for the phone to ring as they aim to get the high-earning Didier Ndong, Wahbi Khazri, Lamine Kone and Jack Rodwell off their wage bill. But it seems that Sunderland have identified a few players that they will do everything to keep this summer, too.

According to the Chronicle, there are three players Sunderland will be desperate to hang on to: the young academy trio George Honeyman, Josh Maja and Joel Asoro (below).

And this makes perfect sense. Despite having new, ambitious owners, the Black Cats are still short of cash and the club’s homegrown talent have just become more essential than ever. Honeyman, Asoro and Maja are all popular players with the fans, meaning that a potential departure would not go down well.

Keeping the trio, however, might be easier said than done. Strike duo Asoro and Maja are both out of contract next summer and have been linked with moves to Premier League sides since Sunderland finished bottom of the Championship.

Energetic midfielder Honeyman, meanwhile, has attracted interest from a number of second tier sides with Sheffield Wednesday understood to be at the front of the queue, according to the Chronicle.

Sunderland will hope to benefit from a rare example of loyalty in modern football.