Sunderland AFC: 2019 player exit will always hurt Stadium of Light faithful | OneFootball

Despite currently sitting top of the table, the Stadium of Light faithful will always be hurt by the departure of George Honeyman to Hull City

Sunderland have been enjoying a blistering season so far and as they battle for promotion to the Premier League, their most recent spell in League One must feel a long way away.

It is a period that few Wearsiders will reflect on positively for plenty of reasons, among which is the fact that it contributed to the painful departure of George Honeyman.

The playmaker was a hugely popular player at the Stadium of Light before he left the Black Cats while they were still battling to escape League One in 2019, instead choosing to make the switch to Hull City.

With the midfielder still a Championship regular, he may feel like the one that got away for Sunderland supporters.

George Honeyman was originally part of Sunderland's academy

Coming through the ranks of the Sunderland academy, Honeyman clearly had bags of talent, as he debuted for the Black Cats in the FA Cup at the age of 20 under then-manager Gus Poyet.

A short loan spell at Gateshead followed, and it took a further season for him to really break into the first team, as he made only seven appearances for the club across the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns.

In 2017, however, Honeyman finally made his mark.

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At just 22, Honeyman made 42 appearances for Sunderland after their relegation back to the Championship, amassing eight goal contributions and a host of impressive statistics – emerging as a clear bright spot in an otherwise difficult campaign.

The midfielder's work rate was evident, as he won possession in the opponent's third 0.43 times per game, while also chipping in with a high number of chances created and silky dribbling.

Sadly for Sunderland, Honeyman's performances were not enough to keep them from a second successive relegation. However, the academy product's tenacious showings had not gone unnoticed, and he was made club captain at the tender age of 23, with the aim of getting his beloved Black Cats back into the second tier.

Yet, it was not to be for the homegrown midfielder. A fifth-place finish and subsequent play-off final loss to Charlton Athletic saw his time at Sunderland come to an end, and he moved to Hull City for a fee believed to be in the region of £400,000. It was a sad end to his time at Sunderland, as he had grown from youthful prospect to club captain with the team.

Since exiting the Stadium of Light, Honeyman has become a Championship stalwart.

Arguably Honeyman's best season, however, came in his only other campaign in League One. Hull had been relegated from the Championship, and it was in the third tier that the midfielder really came to life, as he registered four goals and 13 assists in 42 league games.

The Tigers finished the season with 89 points and were promoted as champions, with Honeyman being almost ever-present throughout the season.

Honeyman currently turns out for Millwall

In spite of a largely successful spell with Hull, the club failed to offer Honeyman a sufficient new deal, and he left the club in favour of a switch to Championship rivals Millwall. Honeyman felt he had been hard done by, as the club had the potential to offer him better terms to stay, and refused to do so.

Millwall snapped up the opportunity to sign the consistent midfielder, and he is now in his third season with the club, having started 14 of the Lions' 15 Championship fixtures this season.

The Englishman's consistency across seven consecutive seasons is a notable attribute of his, as Honeyman has not made less than 31 league appearances in a season since 2016/17.

With Millwall now flying high and pushing for a play-off spot, it is clear that the former Sunderland man's quality has not dwindled over the years, as he is featuring as regularly as ever for Neil Harris' side. As Sunderland themselves have their hopes set on promotion, perhaps they will be wishing they had kept hold of a player as dependable as Honeyman for at least a few more seasons.

The former Black Cat will have been hoping to contribute more against his boyhood club when the pair met at The Den on Saturday but was hooked at halftime to allow Harris to bring on another striker. That at least saved the travelling Wearside support from having to see their former favourite scoring against them, which would've made an already painful exit even worse.