The Black Cats midfielder has been at the Wearside club since 2009 and he is eager to help them get back to the big time.
Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole says he would have been “really gutted” if he was forced to leave the Stadium of Light in the summer.
In addition, the Black Cats veteran compared his injury issues over his time with the club to those being experienced by tennis star Andy Murray and also said he wanted to help the club back to the big time.
Cattermole has been with Sunderland since 2009, joining the Wearside club from Wigan Athletic, and has made 246 appearances for them, scoring six goals and registering 11 assists according to Transfermarkt.
The 30-year-old has stuck with the Black Cats even while they were undergoing a traumatic period off and on the pitch, with their consecutive relegations from the Premier League to League One going hand in hand with their financial issues.
However, Sunderland are now on the mend and, considering they’re doing well in the league this season, could even be set to make an immediate return to the Championship, which is very pleasing to Cattermole.
Often, clubs will sell off their best players when going through financial trouble, and given Cattermole is one of Sunderland’s key men, he could well have been in the firing line in the summer, with the Sunderland Echo having previously linked him to Hull City and Stoke City.
“I’d have been really gutted if I had to leave in the summer,” he told the Sunderland Echo on Wednesday. “People have seen what I’ve given to the club.
“I played for three or four years with my hip which was bad, seeing Andy Murray this week reminded me of some of the hard times I had. I’ve given a lot to the club so it was important to me to try and put things right.”
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