Sunderland weighing up Zak Johnson one-year option as Squad Cost Rules loom | OneFootball

Sunderland are weighing up a one-year option in Zak Johnson’s deal as they finalise their retained list.

According to Sunderland Echo, the 21-year-old’s contract expires this summer and the club hold an option for a further year. No final call has been made as Sunderland consider safeguarding value rather than losing him for nothing.

An academy graduate who can also play right-back, Johnson has had senior loans at Hartlepool United, Dundalk, Notts County and most recently York City.

His York stint ended with promotion to League Two on the National League’s final day, when he started against Rochdale as the title was sealed. He made 25 league appearances, scoring once with two assists, and totalled 29 games and 2,310 minutes across all competitions.

He debuted for Sunderland in October 2021 in an EFL Trophy win over Manchester United Under-21s, aged 16 years and 141 days, the youngest outfield player in almost 50 years. He later started an EFL Cup tie at Crewe Alexandra in August 2023, has England youth caps, and featured under Régis Le Bris in both pre-seasons, including Portugal last summer.

Squad Cost Rules will tighten from 2026-27, capping spend on player and manager wages, agents’ fees and transfer amortisation at 85% of football-related revenue, or 70% for clubs in UEFA competition. The system adds in-season monitoring via revenue and cost estimates, and while Sunderland are not thought to be at risk and have been carefully run under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, triggering Johnson’s option could still help safeguard value.

Source: Sunderland Echo