Sunderland will make serious cash from small £150k outlay, it’s inevitable: View | OneFootball

Sunderland's next big player sale could generate a massive profit on the £150k spent to sign him

Sunderland’s start to the season is the envy of the entire Championship, with Régis le Bris' side earning 12 points from 12 to give fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic despite losing a key figure in Jack Clarke.

Clarke's departure has allowed them to hold onto other players that can now become the new star of the team, such as Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, Dan Ballard or Trai Hume.

While Sunderland's model means that one, or more, of Hume, Bellingham or Rigg could yet be sold for a major profit in 2025, it will surely only come off the back of a positive season for the club.

The two teenagers earning a big sale would come as no surprise no matter what happens, given their names are already being linked with moves to the likes of Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund, according to Teamtalk and HITC.

But if the Wearside outfit are going to have the kind of strong season that supporters want, then it is the likes of lesser-celebrated players like Hume exploding in value that could really signal a positive year to come, and lead to the most major profit of all.

Sunderland's recruitment model working as intended

It was reported by Football Insider earlier this year that Aston Villa and Bournemouth were interested in Hume.

But no move materialised off the back of an underwhelming end to the campaign for the club, while a big offer could've arrived had they kept up their early-season form to finish in the top six again, instead of dropping to 16th.

Clarke was sold to Ipswich Town for £15 million, potentially rising to £20 million with add-ons, according to the BBC, highlighting how well Sunderland have become at flipping young talent into huge transfer profits.

The winger was signed from Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent basis in 2022, and this fee represents a big profit on the minimal fee spent to bring him to the club after his initial loan spell with the club in League One.

Whether supporters like it or not, this is the system working for Sunderland, even if it means losing important parts of the first team squad, but the lack of official bids for Hume shows the team still needs to perform on the pitch to generate these big sales.

Buying young players, such as Clarke, Bellingham or Hume, at a low cost and developing them into far more valuable talent by giving them regular first team opportunities means that they will inevitably be sold for big money someday as long as they're good enough.

Trai Hume can generate next big Sunderland transfer profit

There are other players still in the squad that will be lined up next as the big sale at the Stadium of Light.

One in particular stands to make Sunderland a massive profit due to the remarkably small cost it took to sign him.

Hume was signed for just £150,000, according to his former club Linfield’s public accounts for 2022, as revealed on Twitter.

The full-back had a slow start to life with the Wearside outfit, making three league appearances in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign as the team earned promotion through the play-offs (all stats from Fbref).

Hume grew in importance under Tony Mowbray and is now considered one of the first names on the teamsheet as the club eyes promotion back to the Premier League.

Trai Hume’s increasing importance to Sunderland

Hume played in all 46 of Sunderland’s league games last season, starting in 45, and has continued this level of consistent game time under Le Bris with four starts from four this year.

His defensive solidity makes him one of the strongest full-backs in the division, and he is comfortable going forward with the ball to help in attack as well.

If he can continue developing and improving, adding some extra attacking threat to his game, then he will become one of the most valuable defenders in the second division.

The 22-year-old has a contract until the summer of 2027, giving Sunderland a strong negotiating position going into 2025.

But if he can keep up his current trajectory, then Premier League clubs will start to take a more serious interest if Sunderland cannot reach the level.

It’s hard not to imagine more concrete interest arriving if trends continue and the Black Cats carry on pulling up trees in the Championship.

In the end, it could generate the Black Cats a huge profit on the £150,000 spent to sign Hume, potentially even greater in terms of return on investment than Clarke's sale this summer.

He's one player on a long list of talent at Sunderland, and while fans would rather be reading and hearing about buying low before selling high, it's the reality of what the club have been modelling themselves to do in recent years.

Their player sales are also the envy of the entire Championship, and big profits like the sale of Clarke can even help them continue their rise back to the Premier League if spent well on more bargains like Hume.