Dennis Cirkin has made a huge impact since swapping Tottenham Hotspur for Sunderland with Black Cats boss Lee Johnson hailing the defender’s “frightening” potential, in quotes reported by The Chronicle.
During his four-year spell as manager of Bristol City, Johnson found out the hard way that keeping your most exciting young talent can be easier said than done.
In the blink of an eye, the Robins lost Adam Webster, Lloyd Kelly, Joe Bryan, Jonathan Kodjia, Bobby Reid and Josh Brownhill, to name a few.
And while they made more than £60 million on those six players, a sizeable cash windfall came at the expense of promotion ambitions.
So no wonder Johnson is “scared” of history repeating itself.
Sunderland are flying high in League One and, while the Black Cats have endured their fair share of false dawns in recent seasons, optimism is growing that the sleeping giants are about to awake.
If Johnson is to maintain Sunderland’s revival, however, keeping their star players will be key.
Former Tottenham starlet Dennis Cirkin could land Sunderland a big profit
“I get scared on this one because it has happened to me before where we’ve been a victim of our own success,” Johnson admits. “At Bristol City, we sold nearly £100 million worth of players. I can smell assets.
“If you sign people with a good attitude and you have a good set of staff like we have, you can really improve players quickly. I’m already starting to worry about it (selling players), if I’m honest with you, because I’ve seen it before.
“I’d almost rather they had a couple of bad games and sent everybody off the radar!”
The likes of Dan Neil (19), Elliot Embleton (22) and Niall Huggins (20) have impressed under Johnson while Cirkin, a bargain £1 million signing from Spurs, already looks a cut above League One level.
“Look at a player like Dennis Cirkin, I don’t even feel he’s had 15 or 20 per cent tapped into his true potential,” Johnson adds. “What we could do with him and what he could do with himself is frightening.
“It’s exciting times.”
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