Chelsea-owned trio Tammy Abraham, Izzy Brown and Bertrand Traore have all been linked with loan moves to Sunderland in deals Huddersfield Town would be proud of.
David Moyes finally took Sunderland down
After Sunderland fought tooth and nail for their Premier League lives over the last few seasons, it was a testament to David Moyes negative ways that The Black Cats appeared to accept defeat many months ago.
And with The Sunderland Echo reporting that only ten clubs in Europe are in more debt than the Wearsiders, the doom-mongerers have predicted a long, Leeds-esque pergatory in the lower leagues.
North East neighbours Newcastle United stormed to the Championship title at the first attempt after spending big to reinforce their squad with proven second-tier quality, a la Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle. However, Sunderland simply do not have the funds to embark on such an overhaul. And with up to ten senior players either out of contract or likely to be handed an escape route from elsewhere, it appears the club’s new manager will inherit one hell of a challenge.
Sunderland couldn’t afford talents like Matt Ritchie
However, if we can learn anything from the recent season, it’s that money does not necessarily make the world go round. Not always anyway.
Cats and Terriers
Huddersfield Town, earning a place in the top flight for the first time since 1972, have hardly bought their way back to the big time. Their club record signing, former 1860 Munich stopper Christoph Schindler, cost just £1.8 million (The Examiner) – pocket change in today’s madcap market.
Schindler has been worth every penny
And, spurred on by the excellent transfer nous of recently departed director Stuart Webber, The Terriers took full advantage of the loan market. Creative midfielder Kasey Palmer impressed after joining from Chelsea last summer while Izzy Brown moved from Stamford Bridge in January, adding much-needed cutting edge in the second half of the season.
And it appears that Sunderland may be following their lead. The Daily Mail claims Sunderland were attempting to replicate Huddersfield’s loan deal for 21-year-old Brown. While Tammy Abraham, who netted a remarkable 23 goals for Bristol City in 2016/17, was also on their radar.
19-year-old Abraham could replace Jermain Defoe’s goals
Furthermore, the same publication claims that another Chelsea-owned forward, Bertrand Traore, is the latest to pique Sunderland’s interest after helping AJax reach the Europa League final.
With Sunderland strapped for cash, what better way to approach the new season than to copy a club who made the best out of their very limited funds?
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