Football League World
·18 April 2024
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·18 April 2024
With Sunderland looking to bolster their squad in the January transfer window, they turned to Arsenal's young winger Charles Sagoe Jr, but were unsuccessful in getting a deal over the line.
However, the Black Cats won't be losing any sleep over this, with the youngster instead joining Swansea City where he's failed to make any sort of impact.
The Sunderland Echo reported towards the end of the January transfer window that the club were in talks with Arsenal over a loan move for the winger, but it never materialised, and he instead moved to one of Sunderland's Championship rivals.
The 19-year-old is well thought of by Arsenal, and made his first-team debut for the Gunners earlier this season, starting a League Cup tie away to Brentford where he played 68 minutes.
But it hasn't worked out for him at all in the Championship, and perhaps it's for the best that Sunderland missed out on his signature.
It seemed a good move at the time, but Sagoe Jr hasn't made any sort of impact in the Championship since joining Swansea at the end of January.
He's played just two games for the Swans, both from the bench, totaling just 25 minutes of first-team football.
After making the matchday squad for his first five games as a Swansea City player, Sagoe Jr has seemingly fallen out of favour, and doesn't appear to be in Luke Williams' plans, as he's failed to make the squad since Swansea's trip to the Stadium of Light on the 24th February.
It perhaps speaks volumes that the likes of 17-year-old winger Aimar Govea has been selected over Sagoe Jr in recent matchday squads, and it's fair to say his move to south Wales has been a bust.
With Swansea battling relegation until recently, it's understandable that he wasn't thrown in at the deep end, but despite now being safe, he's still not had a chance.
He's barely a chance to show what he can do, and he might have fared better at Sunderland, who weren't in any danger of being relegated, but Sunderland's hierarchy certainly won't be losing any sleep after missing out on bringing Sagoe Jr to the club.
You don't play for Arsenal without having something about you, so it's safe to assume that Charles Sagoe Jr has talent.
The player scored once and registered six assists in just eight appearances for Arsenal's U21 side this season, and whilst the step-up from Premier League 2 to the Championship is a significant one, there's no doubt that there's a player in there somewhere.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for the player this summer, with Arsenal presumably keen to loan him out again.
Despite a spell at Swansea where he's been pretty anonymous, Sunderland could rekindle their interest in the player this summer.
The Black Cats are always willing to give young players a chance, and with winger Jewison Bennette failing to impress on loan with Aris in Greece, the Costa Rica international may not have much of a future at the Stadium of Light.
This means that signing Sagoe Jr on loan is a feasible option, and with a full pre-season, he could be a different beast to the player we've seen at Swansea.
As a young player, it's always difficult to join a side in January who are battling relegation, and a fresh start in the summer could be exactly what the Arsenal man needs.