Sunderland AFC could face worrying transfer situation if promotion isn’t achieved | OneFootball

Promotion to the Premier League could have the biggest impact of all at Sunderland this season

Sunderland’s Championship promotion battle has a lot at stake for the future of Régis Le Bris’ current first team squad.

Failure to go up this year will raise immediate questions over the futures of several top stars, including Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, Dan Ballard, Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson, among others.

The Black Cats have built an exciting young team that are competing extremely well against the likes of Sheffield United, Leeds United and Burnley.

A top two spot is on the cards if they can maintain their strong form, which would be an impressive turnaround from the 16th place finish in the table in the previous campaign.

Returning to the Premier League for the first time in eight years would be a fantastic reward for how Sunderland have built themselves back up after the double relegation they suffered in 2017 and 2018.

Their smart recruitment has been at the heart of that, but they may need to start from scratch all over again if they remain in the Championship another season.

Sunderland stars attracting transfer interest

It was reported this time last year by TEAMtalk that Neil was attracting interest from clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Football Insider claimed last summer that Trai Hume had Bournemouth and Aston Villa keeping tabs on his progress.

Speculation surrounding Bellingham and Rigg just won’t go away, even now with the team in the middle of a top two fight, with numerous top clubs all linked with a move, like Real Madrid and Manchester United.

TBR Football have written that the likes of Wolves, Brighton and Villa are all interested in Ballard.

It’s no surprise these young stars are all the subject of transfer scrutiny, especially with how well Sunderland have done this season.

Patterson is another player that’s been linked, via HITC, to a big move to a top Premier League club in Arsenal in the recent past.

While Sunderland have done well to hold onto these players so far, the prospect of yet another year in the Championship may not be what they want when the summer rolls around and another year has been completed in their careers.

Importance of promotion to Sunderland

The next few months could prove to be a real sliding doors moment for the Wearside outfit, as promotion to the top flight will significantly increase their chances of holding onto all of these players.

Sunderland are going well at the moment, dealing with the pressure of a chase with Sheffield United, Leeds United and Burnley well - a 1-0 win over Derby County on Tuesday evening was a strong show, and it's worth remembering but for James Trafford's penalty heroics versus Burnley, they'd have picked up a huge win at Turf Moor.

The likes of Bellingham, Patterson, Hume and Neil could all be persuaded by another year at the Stadium of Light as long as Premier League football is on offer.

Otherwise, the transfer market could be a pretty brutal period for supporters, who face the prospect of seeing the team ripped up and a rebuild needed.

Sunderland’s recruitment model has been built on signing younger players in the hopes of giving them game time, developing them and turning them into stars they can sell for big profits.

But losing so many top stars at once would be painful, even if they’d likely earn significant sums to fund a rebuild.

There is so much at stake for Sunderland, the pressure will be on to capitalise on this big chance they've given themselves, and Le Bris has to deliver to keep this core together.