Sunderland: Pye could be Cirkin’s heir

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has performed some blinders within the switch market in recent times to enhance the squad on the Stadium of Mild.

The previous Birmingham academy chief arrived in December 2020 and performed a key position in serving to the membership to flee League One after 4 years within the second tier.

He introduced within the likes of Ross Stewart, Alex Pritchard, Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke amongst others to push the crew to promotion below Alex Neil – who took over from Lee Johnson – final season.

One participant who he unearthed from relative obscurity was full-back Dennis Cirkin. The defender arrived from Premier League giants Tottenham however had not made his skilled debut previous to becoming a member of in the summertime of 2021.

Since signing for the Black Cats, the England under-20 worldwide has racked up a whopping 49 first-team appearances in all competitions for Sunderland and was not too long ago described as being a “standout” participant by journalist Josh Bunting.

Issues transfer rapidly in soccer, although, and also you by no means know when you have to to interchange a participant. Sunderland could outgrow Cirkin or vice versa within the coming years, and that’s the reason it’s essential to have a gradual stream of proficient academy prospects able to step in.

The membership moved to enhance their youth ranks in the summertime by snapping up 18-year-old left-back Connor Pye from League One aspect Morecambe. It was reported that Premier League golf equipment had been monitoring the gem and that the Black Cats view him as a signing for the long run.

He can play at full-back or in central midfield and is just like Cirkin – who had played in these two positions previous to being transformed right into a centre-back on Wearside – in that respect.

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The teen’s means to play centrally in midfield and on the left as a full-back means that he may go well with the left-sided centre-back position through which the ex-Spurs dynamo has been enjoying, as he has defensive expertise and might play by way of the center of the pitch.

Morecambe academy supervisor Stewart Drummond described Pye as being “influential” for the Shrimps at youth degree, and together with the Premier League curiosity in his providers, this implies that {the teenager} is a participant with the potential to develop right into a first-team stalwart sooner or later.

Mowbray may now look to develop {the teenager} into changing into the subsequent Cirkin by transitioning him right into a left centre-back, and even left wing-back, position at senior degree. If the 18-year-old can efficiently make that transition and step as much as enjoying common first-team soccer, then he could possibly be the inheritor to that place in Sunderland’s beginning XI additional down the road.