As they continue their fight to seal a place in the play-offs, Sunderland have seen the pressure of gaining a Premier League place increase thanks to the interest of West Ham in as many as five of their stars.
West Ham plotting Sunderland raid
The Black Cats have their place in the play-offs all but sealed, sat fourth and inside the top six by as many as 12 points with just eight games left to play in the Championship.
The drama is far from over, however. Once the play-offs are set, those at the Stadium of Light must battle for a place at Wembley before desperately hoping to avoid the painful heartbreak of failure at the final hurdle.
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That said, Sunderland deserve great credit with or without promotion this season. When Regis Le Bris arrived last summer, he took charge of a side fresh from a frustrating bottom-half finish in need of an inspiration. Now, almost 12 months later, they have been inspired enough to climb into fourth and on course to fight for a place in the Premier League come May.
That achievement may not come without a catch though and the Black Cats could yet fall victim to their own success. According to ExWHUEmployee, West Ham are now plotting a move to sign Dan Neil alongside interest in Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, Romaine Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda.
The interest in both Rigg and Bellingham comes as no surprise and Sunderland have already placed a reported £20m price tag on the former whilst the latter could be worth more than £12m this summer.
As if losing two young midfielders wouldn’t be enough of a blow, it looks as though Le Bris also has to worry about losing Neil, Mayenda and Mundle when the summer arrives. Neil’s departure would be particularly frustrating, given his role as club captain.
Sunderland must keep “clever” Neil
Such is the ruthlessness of the Championship, Sunderland may need to earn promotion to the Premier League now more than ever if they are to stand a chance of avoiding a summer exodus of talent. The likes of Bellingham, Rigg and Neil could all turn their attention towards the top flight if promotion isn’t achieved in the current campaign in what would break Le Bris’ midfield apart.
The Black Cats boss will be desperate to keep hold of all three and knows just how important the likes of Neil are to his Sunderland side. The Frenchman told reporters when asked about his captain earlier this season: “He’s very clever, very important to adjust the formation and balance the team.
“At the end, the individual output is maybe not as huge as expected but is very important for the team. Now that job is done he can add more things like more forward passes, tackling, counter pressing, and you can see how strong he is as an individual player. But at the same time, the role he has for the balance of the team is very important.”
As the summer approaches, West Ham’s interest has suddenly handed Sunderland added pressure to win promotion to the Premier League this season.
