Sunderland had a howler with Honeyman

Former Sunderland supervisor Alex Neil led the membership again to the Championship by securing promotion out of League One within the 2021/22 marketing campaign.

The Black Cats spent 4 years within the third tier of English soccer following their back-to-back relegations from the highest two divisions between 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Sunderland have been unable to interrupt out of League One within the first three seasons and this resulted in quite a lot of gamers coming out and in of the Stadium of Gentle throughout that point.

One participant they’d a mare with throughout these three years was attacking midfielder George Honeyman, who had risen via the youth ranks on the membership.

The 28-year-old was a product of the academy system and played within the Premier League and the Championship earlier than changing into the skipper within the third division.

Jack Ross made him the membership captain in the summertime of 2018 and hailed the expertise, saying: “George’s angle in the direction of coaching every day is completely unbelievable.”

Was promoting Honeyman a mistake?

Ross added: “He’s a mature and clever younger man, and his vitality ranges and utility in video games will likely be a significant asset for us, so I’m delighted he’s wished to tackle the accountability.”

He performed 38 occasions within the 2018/19 league marketing campaign and chipped in with six targets and three assists from the center of the park.

In the summertime of 2019, the Mackems determined to cash in on the midfielder as an alternative of operating the chance of him leaving on a free switch the next yr. He signed for Championship facet Hull Metropolis in a deal reported to be price £400k to the Black Cats.

His type since departing Wearside will certainly depart Sunderland regretting that they didn’t take a danger and try and persuade him to place pen to paper on a brand new contract.

Though he suffered relegation from the second tier in his first season at Hull, Honeyman caught the attention with an outstanding marketing campaign in League One in 2020/21. He averaged a chic SofaScore rating of 7.36 throughout 42 appearances – a rating increased than any Black Cats player managed at that stage final time period – as he scored four targets and offered a whopping 14 assists, while creating 21 ‘massive possibilities’.

The midfielder then made 35 appearances within the Championship for the Tigers in 2021/22 – scoring five and helping four – earlier than sealing a transfer to Millwall, the place he has loved a powerful begin to the season.

Honeyman has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.00 throughout 9 appearances within the division this yr, scoring once and helping one aim while creating 1.6 possibilities per sport. That may place him fifth within the present Sunderland squad amongst gamers who’ve performed at the least 5 matches.

On the time of writing, Transfermarkt worth him at £1.35m, roughly 238% greater than the preliminary £400k Hull paid to snap him up from Wearside.

Due to this fact, the Black Cats made a mistake by promoting Honeyman as his worth has gone up, consistent with his spectacular performances on the pitch, since leaving the membership.

They need to have taken the chance of him leaving for nothing, as an alternative of accepting a measly payment as they may have been in a position to work on a brand new deal, thus cementing his future within the north east.