"Any fee is kind of a profit" - Sunderland academy graduate set to be missed amid Blackpool FC links | OneFootball

Our Fan Pundit will be sad to see the midfielder depart

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Blackpool are reportedly interested in bringing midfielder Elliot Embleton back to Bloomfield Road on a permanent deal.

The report, from journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, stated that the League One outfit are interested in bringing the 25-year-old back following a previous loan spell, where he helped the Seasiders win promotion to the second tier via the play-offs.

He has risen through the academy ranks at Sunderland but has struggled for minutes in recent seasons, leading to an ill-fated loan spell with Derby County last term.

With links to a permanent separation gathering pace, our Black Cats Fan Pundit, Keith, has provided us with his thoughts on the potential move.

It'll be a shame to see Embleton go, says Fan Pundit

One of the most satisfying sights in football is seeing a young player break out of the youth team at a club and establish themselves in the first team, which consequently makes it painful on the occasions that it doesn't quite work out and a new direction is needed, as our Fan Pundit points out.

Speaking to Football League World, he said: “So, it looks like Elliot Embleton is set for the exit door, potentially anyway, that’s the latest rumour coming out of the Stadium of Light today.

“A bit of a shame because, obviously, we always like to see the homegrown talent doing well and filtering through into the first team, and that looked to be very much the case.

“Obviously, he was developing well, scored that absolute beauty in the play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers a couple of seasons back, that really set us on the way to getting back into the Championship. “Since then, serious, serious injury problems, culminating in that really nasty one when he went on loan to Derby County, where basically the thigh muscle just popped altogether when he was in the training ground corner-taking incident. “But, I mean, great to see him back in pre-season. I personally thought some of his dead-ball deliveries were very good. I think it’s something that we’ve missed in terms of the quality, certainly since Alex Pritchard left for new shores, I guess. “Yeah, I don’t begrudge him. Again, it’s a bit like the Jay Matete situation, but only worse because, obviously, Embo’s a homegrown talent. “We’ve got an embarrassment of riches in central midfield. We’ve got younger players who look as if they have more potential than Elliot Embleton. “So, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go out of the door. “Having said that, like I say, that quality from dead-ball situations. His corners and free-kicks have actually been really good in pre-season. As much as you can’t afford to keep somebody on the squad list just on behalf of that, I’d be tempted just to give him a little bit of time to prove his fitness. “Elliot is a creative thinker. He’s a forward-playing midfielder as well, which would ease some of the frustration fans are feeling right now. And certainly from last season, where we just looked a little bit stagnant in midfield. “So yeah, it will be sad to see him go if he does indeed go. Blackpool, obviously, amongst the frontrunners for that as well, which my Mrs will be pleased about because she’s from that neck of the woods, so she’ll be over the moon.

“But yeah, it’ll be a shame to see him go. I think any fee that we get from him, because, obviously, he’s a homegrown talent, any fee is kind of a profit anyway. But, obviously, I think a lot of Sunderland fans will be sad to see the back of him, this one included, especially for setting us on the way and getting us back up into the Championship as well.”

It's time to kick on elsewhere for Embleton

Although Embleton has had some fantastic highs as part of the Sunderland senior team, any hope of breaking into the Championship side, who will want to be looking up the table rather than down, seems some way off.

He has had some tough luck with the unfortunate injury suffered early into his loan spell at Derby, but having fought his way back to fitness, now seems as good a time as any for a fresh start and to properly establish himself with a side, with the 'young prospect' tag fading as each season passes.

He evidently has bags of talent, but his best moments have tended to arrive in the third tier, so a move back to that level, specifically with a team in Blackpool that knows him and what he's capable of, looks like the perfect environment for him to thrive.