- 03/06/2025
Phil Smith and Jason Jones take a look at all the latest transfer news surrounding Sunderland - including the latest on Jobe Bellingham' proposed move to Borussia Dortmund.
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00:00hello welcome to the raw podcast brought to you by the sutherland echo my name is jason jones
00:23joined by phil smith and as the the dust is starting to settle bill on sutherland's
00:29triumph at wembley week and a half ago it's fair to say that things are really starting to kick
00:34off in the transfer window instead because these things never ever end they never ever stop and
00:39they are very much getting underway and obviously we're going to be talking about transfers uh
00:45predominantly over the course of this episode but i think it's fair to say that we're what two
00:49or three days into the window and it's already shaping up to be a busy one for sunderland
00:54yeah it's probably we were just chatting there but before we came out to do this it's probably
00:59a bit of a reminder of what life in the premier league is like it's probably a little bit of a
01:04um i don't know a shock to everyone's system just the the level of scrutiny and attention and
01:09discussion that happens and i suppose there's an excitement to that as well um but yeah for sure
01:16it feels like it's going to be a long and very busy summer which you know i guess that's the privilege and
01:21and the luxury of being back in the big time very much so very much i mean obviously there are a
01:28few names i'm sure we'll sort of come on to and discuss the big one at the moment i think the one
01:33we've kind of got to start with is joe bellingham um obviously lots of rumors surrounding his future
01:39on weird side of the present moment and tying various reports from both the continent close at home
01:44as well suggesting that borussia dortmund have really stepped up their interest in him over the past day
01:49or two i mean what can you tell us about that where does someone currently stand with that and
01:54does his future look as if it's going to be lying away from where is that
02:00yeah i i think it's starting to look very much like that i mean i have to say from a from a
02:04similar perspective it's very very quiet i think they're determined to to kind of keep their counsel
02:09on this one but i think from the conversations that i've been having i think the the time on events
02:15is clearly that bellingham i think as everyone knows has been weighing up his options and having
02:18a bit of a breather um at the end of the season i think that it's fairly obvious to me that a lot of
02:27work was done in terms of i think when bellingham arrived two years ago i think someone always knew
02:32there'd be a scenario like this where top clubs in europe were circling i think that this is something
02:38that would definitely have happened if suddenly hadn't got promoted i think someone getting
02:43promoted has maybe just added a layer of extra decision making for the player himself in terms of
02:49you know whether we wanted to make that step up with someone particularly i think because
02:53he's developed some really strong strong bonds here and we've all seen that in his celebrations
02:57um but it does you know certainly dortmund are of the belief that that bellingham now wants to join
03:02them he appears to have indicated to them that he's prepared to join them and to the other clubs who are
03:06interested that he's made that decision so now it's just about negotiation really from from my
03:14understanding there there is a release clause of around i think it works out at about 34 million
03:20dortmund don't particularly want to pay that someone want them to pay that now as it usually happens in
03:25this i suspect we'll end up about somewhere in the middle um i think your final fee if it does get
03:31agreed will probably end up around that level but potentially is with add-ons and part of it wrapped up
03:36in closes as is usually the case so sitting here now jason i'd be really surprised if bellingham
03:42doesn't sign for dortmund but of course and they're in a fairly strong position contractually so they
03:46will haggle dortmund want this done because they want to take him to the club world cup
03:50and obviously the this mini transfer window ahead of that club world cup shuts on jim 10th so they're
03:56really keen to try and get this wrapped up and i think it's in some of his interests to have a quick
04:00resolution because obviously they want to plan for next season so i think from a sudden perspective
04:03otherwise i say it's been very quiet at this end i think it's a case of getting a good deal
04:08while also getting a a good speedy resolution so that so they can kind of get on with it very
04:13difficult task let's be honest of replacing job and getting the squad ready for next season
04:18i mean you mentioned the release clause there obviously you know some of them might fall a
04:23little bit short of securing that sort of fee but you know say we do fall somewhere between that sort of
04:2933 34 million pound mark there's been 25 million report from other sources say we end up somewhere
04:34in the middle of that i mean do you think that would be a fee that sutherland could be satisfied
04:39with and do you think that that would represent good value or something i think it does i think
04:45especially when you put it in the context of much of bellingham's younger development was obviously
04:50at birmingham not sunland um now obviously the exact fee for that someone paid to sign bellingham
04:56you know we we don't know and we'll we'll never entirely know but we think with add-ons etc probably
05:01around 3 million so i think if you're potentially making 10 times the money that you signed him for
05:07two years ago and he's played an integral part in getting you promoted to the premier league and all
05:11the riches that brings i think you just have to look at it and say you know what this has worked out
05:16for everybody well done and shake hands i think the nice thing for me is that when you look at it in
05:22that context in terms of he's come to sutherland two years moves on you know to dortmund feels all
05:27quite pre-planned you could be quite cynical about it and i think what's quite nice about this one is
05:31the fact that bellingham has actually left a real impression because you know he really bought into
05:36the club um you know he really you know he stuck with the club when he could have sort of tried to go
05:41last year when things were all a little bit up in the air and i think he's developed a real connection
05:46with the fan base and the club and his teammates so i think that's the nice thing about this is that
05:51it's one where yes he moves on relatively quickly um but he's actually sort of written a little
05:56chapter in the club's history and i think that's a really nice thing so for me like it's it is a
06:03negative because someone's losing one of the players who you're kind of hanging your hat on and saying i'm
06:07pretty sure he could step up next season and that's obviously leaves a big hole in the squad but i don't
06:13think you can argue this is like this is bad business i think that this puts you know someone did a good
06:19position heading into the summer window and i think crucially if they did get somewhere in the
06:23kind of fee that we're mentioning it puts them in such a strong position if other clubs in come in
06:28for other players in their squad as well and i think that's something to consider as well that like
06:32someone weren't under massive pressure to sell before this they're under absolute zero pressure
06:37to sell if it does happen so i think there's a lot although there's a sadness to it i think you have to
06:42be honest and say from a business perspective like this they all will make a lot of sense if and when
06:46it happens i think the other thing as well there you're talking about the pressure that someone
06:52would sort of alleviate a little bit if the sale were to go through obviously watson's already gone
06:57you know tommy watson's moved to brighton as we already knew it would be but that was confirmed
07:01was earlier this week later last week whenever it might be you know so that's another 10 million
07:05pounds already pocketed you know and there is also an element here it's something that we've said a few
07:10times isn't it but one of the the big selling points of sunderland as a club for these young
07:16talents who've been coming through the door over the course of the past three four seasons whatever
07:20it might have been is that they're not necessarily going to stand in the way of that next almost
07:27inevitable career step you know when you look at a player of joe bellingham's quality it's felt for
07:31a long time as if he was destined to take that same step in the way that his brother did and sort of
07:37try his look at the sort of next level of european football someone just can't offer him at this
07:42present moment in time and you know when you take those two things into combination obviously the
07:47the watson sale and then the fact that you know sunderland are sort of a club that's set up in a
07:53way that's sort of willing to allow their players to take those steps you know it kind of feels to me
07:59at least as if this is a deal that that you know wouldn't necessarily be anything that someone would
08:05look on particularly negatively no i don't think so and i think that what you will lead to that is
08:11a really important point now of course there's a balance in a fine line where you've got to put
08:15the club first and you've got to protect the club's interests and that is the job of the of the sporting
08:20director and the recruitment team and the owner but i think the thing one thing i would say is that if
08:25sunderland had a reputation for as you put it standing in players way joe belling would never
08:30have signed for sunderland two years ago one of the reasons he signed for sunderland was when he
08:35could have i would have strongly imagined had the pick of a number of clubs in europe was that either
08:40were going to play him straight away which obviously wouldn't have happened if he'd gone to a top
08:43premier league academy in the first team i mean um and the second thing is that like he wouldn't have
08:50signed a contract extension last summer if he thought that meant something we're going to hold it against
08:54them a year down the line like you wouldn't have would he because if someone had a reputation for
08:58we will block your path to the very top when the opportunity comes around um and players just
09:03wouldn't sign like players like chris rigg wouldn't be signing their professional contracts here if they
09:07thought they meant it was going to tie them to the club the only reason you can get players who have
09:12all these options to come and play for you is to give them a pathway and to show that when the timing's
09:16right you let them move on now that doesn't mean being a soft touch like i always use the example
09:21when bernie came in for jack clark it'll be two summers ago now you know someone rejected those
09:26bids because they didn't feel it meant evaluation but it meant that a year later when another premier
09:31league came in and the bids are about twice the number they did feel that realistically they kind
09:36of had to let cart it out of change go to premier league so it is a really fine balance and you don't
09:40want to give the impression that someone should just sell plays you know the first time a bid comes in
09:45um but that's not what happens but i think it's if you are going to commit to this model and so far
09:51it's been working for someone i think you do have to be brave and identifying the point at which you
09:55have to say to players okay yeah um you know fair enough this is this is an opportunity that we can't
10:01stand in the way of you know the key thing is getting a good fee in this circumstance it looks
10:06like although there's obviously a little bit to run in terms of negotiations it looks like that's
10:09something they'll manage absolutely and i mean obviously from a certain perspective i was going
10:15to say the only downside obviously it's a massive downside and it's what you've already alluded to
10:19but trying to replace bellingham is not going to be an easy thing if it comes to that do you know
10:24what i mean because i think we've seen over the course of you know obviously his time at sun and
10:28writ large but certainly his time under reducing brisk this past season and and the role that he's played
10:34in that summer midfield i mean so many naysayers so many doubters who've perhaps suggested that
10:39he is very much you know living off the bellingham name i think all of those doubts anybody who's
10:44watched him on a weekly basis would have to argue that they've been entirely dispelled he's obviously
10:49a very very uh promising talent but one as well who who's so integral to the way that someone plays
10:55was also so well rounded i think it's fair to say you know like at such a young age he operates with
11:01maturity that i think sort of belies his age a little bit he's good on the front foot he battles so
11:05tremendously well in in the heart of midfield his passing's good he's got a good range of distribution
11:10i mean it's not necessarily going to be easy for someone to to bring in a player of that quality
11:16straight off the bat is it i don't think so and i think you related to it there like
11:23when you're on social media and stuff you can tell straight away that someone's just not serious in
11:27their analysis i haven't watched him much they either say it's only because of his brother his surname
11:31or they mentioned goals and assists and i think while he's been playing like
11:35you know is it is basically at times he's played as the older midfielder this year i'll be enough very
11:39often so i think like you know his athleticism the way he can go from box to box the way he can
11:46sort of wriggle out of trouble and and move the ball quickly at wide launch counter-attacks everyone
11:51who's watched him this season can can see that he's a he's a huge talent for his age and he's going to
11:55have a good career and i think that in the games he was absent when someone missed him i don't have the
12:00stats to hand in terms of the record when he wasn't in the team last year but i would imagine there was a
12:04drop off in some of those performances because they didn't really have another midfielder like
12:08him got lots of excellent midfielders at the club but certainly that physical dominance that he was
12:13able to exert at times last season and that sort of running power to go from box to box i think is
12:19something that that summoned really missed and we didn't see it as much last year but he has got an
12:23eye for goal i mean we all remember when he was stuck up front against cardiff and he and he scored twice
12:28didn't he um you know he has got that as well and that's an invaluable quality really so i think he
12:34is going to be a difficult player to replace it would have been much harder to do it if we were
12:38still in the championship before budgetary reasons you know i think that's the one positive you can
12:41take from this situation that you know some linden now heading into the transfer window in my opinion
12:48with a slightly scary amount of work to do there's no point sort of um hiding away from that but also
12:53financially like like if this deal does go through they're going to be in a really really good
12:58position to invest in some in some young talent i suppose the other thing to mention as well is
13:04that obviously there is a certain ends all affair kicking about who we're not expecting to go anywhere
13:10now that sydland have been promoted and while i think the the sort of general feeling on weasai when
13:15he first arrived was that he would operate as the sort of most advanced of uh the brice's midfield three i
13:21i think it's probably fair to say that that thus far at least during sunday in korea he's probably
13:25a little more comfortable in a central role when he's been operating that a little bit deeper you
13:29know it's not necessarily the case that he is only number 10 and and you know and maybe and again your
13:35opinion on this but perhaps there's a version of this in which sunderland don't necessarily feel the
13:39need to go out and buy a direct bellingham replacement because la faye is capable of operating in more
13:45positions than we might have initially assumed he could
13:47it yeah i think this is something we spoke to the brice about sort of in the early weeks after
13:53the fair arrived in terms of i think when he was younger he was very very much number 10 but i think
13:59once uh lorion when he started to play as more than eight and start to get a bit deeper it was
14:04something he was really reluctant to to then move back away from because he was getting so much more
14:08of the ball and he was able to have um so many more touches that i think that was something he really
14:13relished so i certainly think that they would love to play as a bit more of an eight and be able to
14:17come a little bit deeper and get on the ball loads and dictate the pace of the game so i agree with
14:22that but i do think that bellingham in terms of the ground he's able to cover over and over again the
14:28amount of jewels he wins and also the amount of headers he wins like he's quite a big part of that
14:32for sunderland i think that that will leave a big gap if we're just talking about the players who
14:37are contracted in terms of like neil rig lafay three players who i absolutely adore but physically
14:44in the premier league you know that there is obviously a gap there and that what bellingham
14:49has been able to do over the last year or so can kind of help you deal with so i do think they will
14:53have to get the balance right in that midfield and i think they will need a bit more athleticism
14:59um if bellingham goes but i certainly agree with you in terms of you know i think the fair will be
15:05i don't think it's just like all the phase of 10 and you know we we build around that i definitely
15:09think you'll be in the conversation to play deeper at times this season but you've got to get the right
15:13players around them haven't you especially when if we're being realistic like someone's aren't going
15:17to be having 70 of the ball in many games next year so they're definitely going to think i have to
15:22think about that as well i mean you say that you never know man you never know um obviously you mentioned
15:29yeah you're right that's right that's very negative of me jason that's very negative but you're right
15:32you call it everyone thank you you know we all start on zero points phil we all start on zero
15:37points um quite right obviously you you mentioned daniel there um slightly precarious situation isn't it
15:45in the sense that his contract is out next summer um obviously there have been these rumors as well
15:51yes rona so supposedly looking at him they've been mentioned before those those reports have sort of
15:58resurfaced in recent days um i mean i'm just sort of again interested to get your thoughts on this and
16:03how concerned you are about the prospect of dan neil potentially leaving some of the sun
16:13yeah it's a really good question i mean obviously a bit concerned because he only has one year left on
16:19his contract and i think that obviously puts someone in a bit of a vulnerable vulnerable position if he
16:24decides not to sign another one it's not one that i'm losing a huge amount of sleep over yet just as
16:30in i think it's a little bit early in the summer to be worried about the contractual situation one way
16:35or another and what i mean by that is i spoke to dan after the comeback win over swansea in
16:41december i think it was yeah december and he sort of said then like look like i'm just focused on
16:46promotion and then when i spoke to christian speakman in february he kind of said the same thing like
16:50we've had some conversations but it's not the right time let's just focus on winning promotion
16:55and i think that was sensible and i think it made sense if suddenly hadn't gone up i think daniel
16:59would have had top tier offers and i think would have had a decision to make you know dan's obviously
17:03like all the other players has had a break at the end of the season and rightly so because that was
17:07deserved so i'd be surprised if any significant conversations had really happened yet on that
17:15front so i'm not particularly concerned that we haven't had like a major update on the contractual
17:19front i think something they've got a good chance of getting a new contract with daniel sort of
17:23because i think his preference will be to play for someone in the premier league he's been such a big
17:28part of his journey and i imagine that that's you know what i want to go and do obviously when you
17:33see names like as roman linked we're talking about a prestige and a potential like life opportunity really
17:40that will that will leave him with a difficult decision but um of all the other players in the squad
17:45daniel is what i'm most worried about because of his contractual situation i think that's the easiest
17:50way to put it but i don't think it's time to quite panic yet because i think you know i i think there
17:55will still be an element of goodwill on both sides there that makes you think an agreement could be
17:59reached but outside of job who i think now is increasingly likely to leave clearly dan would be
18:04the one you'd be most concerned about because that's the only position where you know someone
18:08not really in a position where they can say actually no we're not prepared to do that in this window
18:12i think obviously again you sort of alluded to it that as as a sondland fan you would at least like
18:23to think that it weighs in someone's favor you know the potential to be able to offer dan neal the
18:28opportunity to captain his boyhood club in the premier league you know that's again not to say that
18:34one thing will happen one thing won't happen but at the very least you would imagine that that would make
18:39any decision over leaving the club a damn sight harder than it would have been if some of them
18:44were you know still in the championship this season yeah definitely and like you know dan's
18:51never played at the premier league before either so you know i i think it's potentially a really good
18:55opportunity for him to go and test himself at that level um and then you know i think for me like
19:01there'll be a lot of players where you know i think it's that makes sense for them to step up with
19:06sondland and to test themselves on that level and to try and establish someone at that level it's
19:10kind of the last part of the job right in terms of if we look at the journey that the club's been on
19:15in the last few years and i think there'll be a real determination i honestly do think there'll be
19:19a real determination within that dressing room from the core of the players who've been on that journey
19:24to go and finish the job and to establish this club in the premier league
19:27um as i say you know like you have to bounce against that against what other opportunities will be out
19:33there and if we are talking about you know a team that will be hoping to challenge for the champions
19:37league places in sarah next year and an amazing life opportunity then you know that that will be
19:42a difficult decision but i think it's in in the way that like it feels like the joke thing is happening
19:48now um i think it's way too early to be talking about that with dan neil i think there's still
19:54a lot of conversations to be had and i would at this stage remain you know fairly hopeful and optimistic
20:00um that there's something can still be solved on that in the next few weeks
20:06another name who we've seen linked with you know interest from outside trey hume sky sports
20:11suggesting that is what everton wolves and a couple of la liga clubs thrown in there for good measure
20:16as well i mean obviously wonderfully important player for someone over the past couple of years
20:21really really top performer in the championship and a player who i think one way or another most people
20:27would agree is is definitely deserving of a shot in the premier league really excited to see how he
20:32gets on in the top line next season i mean again you sort of mentioned it there but given the fact
20:37that his contract is a little bit more secure than neil's i mean is that one that you you're less
20:41concerned about i think so yeah i mean i i think like it's something we're starting to get a little bit
20:50more used to now that i think like at the start and the end of every transfer window every summer
20:56player gets linked for the move away like it's just you know it just seems to be the way of things now
21:01and that's a compliment to someone because it makes it got stacks of brilliant young players who other
21:04teams want to sign but we have enough windows now under this current regime to know that there's not
21:11going to be a fire sale like there's been interesting players across every single window and at most one is
21:17left and you know and in most of those situations it has been when the contractual situation has largely
21:24forced the club's hand certainly the case is you know stewart watson and clark so i don't have this
21:30sort of inside track on on where trey hume's heads out whether he wants to leave i've watched him play for
21:36the last year and i think it's incredibly obvious how much he absolutely loves the club and how determined
21:41he would be to try and establish it at premier league level i do think he's probably in line for a new
21:45contract i mean he signed his last new deal two years ago um and i think we can all agree he's
21:51miles ahead of where he was then as a player i'm sure that promotion means that there's sort of an
21:55automatic increase in his wages and stuff but i definitely think he's someone who's deserves to
22:00sort of be rewarded for the progress he's made but these kinds of players especially are that job's
22:05going i'm a bit more relaxed about because someone just are under no pressure to sell and the model
22:11isn't to sell players as soon as the big big comes in for them you know someone could have sold all
22:16these players well before now if they'd want them to if it was about turning a quick profit
22:20um they'll be determined to keep the rest of the team together especially if job does go so you know
22:25you don't have a crystal ball you can't see far in the future but i'm quite relaxed about these kind
22:29of ones because i'm just looking at what's happened in previous windows where we've been through the same
22:34thing and actually the turnover has been much much smaller by the end of it so for sure i envisaged joe
22:40believe in maybe you know one or two others over the course of the window but it's there just isn't
22:44there isn't going to be a fire sale that there just isn't there never is
22:50should we talk about some potential incomings rather than sort of you know spending half an
22:54hour doom and gloom about potential you know players who are going to leave Sunderland over the next few
22:58weeks um yeah so i mean we've seen reports in the past few days i mean that Sunderland are
23:04potentially going to look at prioritizing new fullbacks new wingers sort of strengthening
23:09in the squad in those positions i mean does that feel right to you do you do you sort of look at
23:15the the players at gris's disposal at the moment and think yeah they need a bit more strength in those
23:19areas i think so because i think that wingers was an option where is it was a position sorry where
23:27we felt light in the second half of last season and that was obviously before tommy watson left
23:31um it would take a quite remarkable turnaround in fortunes for jan pervaded in my eyes to emerge
23:38as someone who regis the breeze had as part of his premier league squad next season so you're
23:43essentially looking at it you know you're basically going into next season with mundele and roberts
23:46and mundele obviously has had some hamstring issues this season um mundele and roberts are
23:52two players that i would want as part of my premier league squad absolutely no debate about it but
23:57you know wing is a really important position a because of the way someone play
24:01um and b because it's a position where you need to be able to change later in games to get a bit more
24:06um freshness to kind of run at tired defenders so for me i think you need two wingers and in my
24:12opinion that's an absolute priority for me going into this window again absolutely not a reflection
24:16on wonderland roberts who i would have in my squad any day of the week i think they're excellent
24:21um and i think roberts is someone who will just get better the more you put good players in the team
24:25with him and i'm excited to see how we how he develops next season in terms of that
24:30um so wingers is a big priority for me and i think fullbacks again is an important position because
24:35similar to roberts and mundele you know you have human circ and both players who i think are capable
24:39of stepping up and deserve the opportunity to step up but as we've seen the season you're an injury or
24:44two away from having to put players out of position and it's going to be really difficult to get away with
24:48doing that in the premier league um and of course sirkin is someone who like agi alisa who would
24:53ordinarily be an option um those two players have both had injury issues in the past so i think that
24:58feels about right to me in terms of two really important positions as i say not because of a
25:03reflection of the players who've played them mostly the season but i think they're areas where you'd
25:08quickly become incredibly vulnerable at premier league level if you suffered injuries so it's one of
25:12those like you could make a case for strengthening every position on the pitch because you're stepping
25:18up to the premier league but i think if i'm looking at areas where it's really really important that you
25:23add some proven quality they're definitely two positions that stand out to me obviously the
25:27central midfield one's a little bit more complex isn't it because we need to know who's staying first
25:32before we have a sense of where needs to be strengthened um and i do think you need a third
25:38striker i think that's really important as well we were probably lucky that meander and isado didn't
25:42get injured in the second half of this season um they're both players again who i would have in my
25:47squad next year absolutely every day of the week um but i think you need a third so those are probably
25:53the positions that's sitting here now are kind of screaming screaming at me
25:58you mentioned the center midfield and and you mentioned the point of attack as well i just want to
26:02run a couple of names by you that we have already seen sort of linked half linked if you like
26:07obviously the first one jordan henderson it's a story that has been doing the rounds for a while
26:11it's a story that does not seem to be going anywhere i mean sort of taking out the equation
26:17whether it will happen or not do you think that he would be a good addition to this someone's work
26:27yeah i think that i think suddenly need a bit of primarily experience i think that's definitely one
26:31thing i don't have a problem with them sticking to the model that they've they've sort of
26:36implemented over the last few years but even when you think of like the team that did well in the
26:41first season of the championship it had danny bart alex pritchard it had that little smattering of
26:46placing you the level and so i think that's going to be important again going into the premier league
26:50and i think it is important that you add some more leadership into that dressing room because
26:54it's potentially going to be tricky next season at times there are going to be moments where it might
26:59feel really difficult where you might be on a really poor run players who can handle that and know how to
27:04drag other players with them are going to be really important really hard for me to make a comment on
27:09what level henderson is at at the moment because as much as i would love to i don't watch watch much
27:15era divisi so i'm not really sure where his game's at um if it's the henderson that we watched you
27:20know every year's gone by then of course he would add a massive amount to the midfield um i get the
27:26impression that it's something that would be welcomed by the vast majority of sunderland fans
27:30um from sort of the initial feedback i can see as we talked about going into the january window on
27:35this podcast it's not quite the home run that it that it once would have been in terms of the the
27:40mood because of that you know very controversial move to saudi arabia and we talked about that at
27:45length at the time so it's probably not quite the home run that it once would have been um but i
27:50certainly think he would add a lot on the pitch and in the dressing room i don't there's any doubt about
27:53that i think it was uh margot gabbi adini made the point on on total sport the other night and he was
27:59like like you and like me as well because i don't see a lot of the dutch top flight but he must be
28:05doing something right if thomas tuchel has felt the need to bring him back into that england squad
28:10you know obviously leadership credentials fair enough but on a footballer level he must still have
28:15enough about him to to be a worthwhile addition you know yeah and i asked yeah i think they blew the
28:22title in the end didn't they but they were leading the aerodivision for much of the season so he
28:27clearly to be part of that team is clearly still performing at a decent level and in fact monaco
28:31would try to sign him in january wasn't there there was a lot of controversy around that so again he's
28:36clearly clearly performing at a level where where he still has a lot of ability so i don't think there's
28:41any doubts about that um you know it'll be about what options he has um both financially and from a
28:47sporting perspective um and as i say it would be it would be interesting whether the you know the
28:52the controversy over over his move when he left liverpool would have an impact in someone's
28:57decision making because as i say whereas once we'd have been looking at it going you know it's kind
29:00of the feel-good football and story of the year i do think a lot of people would still see it that way
29:04but it's not everybody would either um my feeling is that wouldn't impact someone's thinking you know
29:12they've played friendly against the saudi arabian team in the past um yeah i suspect that it wouldn't
29:18impact their thinking but it you know it would certainly influence some people's views on it i
29:22think to be fair and then finally one last one phil um obviously you mentioned the need for a third
29:29striker we've seen suggestions that some of them might be willing to reopen talks with liverpool over
29:34the prospect of bringing jaden dans back for a second loan stint obviously a bit of a misnomer that in
29:40the sense that he hasn't actually played for the club despite signing on deadline day in january i mean
29:45it's a weird one this isn't it because it's hard to sort of get a read on a player who we've never
29:50seen in red and white but is there perhaps a feeling that you know if sunday are going to go and get a
29:56third striker that they given that they're a premier league team now should they be able to
30:00for a little bit more than a player like a jaden dans or do you think that he deserves an opportunity
30:05to prove himself in premier league given his pedigree with liverpool yeah my feeling on the on the jaden
30:12dance one is that it because as you just said we've never seen him play again quite difficult
30:17to make a judgment on his on his level but listen my feeling is that if i was in someone's perspective
30:23i would want a striker with a bit more top tier experience because you have a huge prodigious
30:29talent of your own and eliza meander who you'll want to get minutes you have wilson isador who i know
30:34is formed towards the end of the season um but i think has a lot to offer but doesn't have a lot of
30:38premier league experience i would definitely be wanting somebody a little bit more established to
30:42come in it is really difficult because especially with young players of jaden dan's reputation you
30:48don't know how quickly they're going to develop and maybe it could be a huge success in the premier league
30:52my view sitting here is if someone had one promotion i think he would have been one of
30:56their top summer targets and i think that maintaining a really good relationship with liverpool around deal
31:02over the last few months i think a big part of that was to potentially be at the front of the queue
31:06if dan's was to go out on loan again this summer and i think if someone had been a championship club
31:10for me that would have been a complete no-brainer i think it would be risky to kind of wait for jaden
31:15dan's because i imagine liverpool will keep him in their squad for pre-season they'll want to take a
31:19close look at him for me suddenly need to be getting on with their business they need to be looking at
31:23trying to recruit another striker before then so sitting here right now like it's not one that i can
31:29personally see um but it's difficult to to see how it will develop later in the summer but
31:35for me i think that's one that would have been much more likely if someone hadn't won promotion
31:38i think someone'd have to look at it a little bit differently now they're going into the top tier
31:42um but you know as as we always say it's a very very long summer and things can change super quickly
31:50absolutely it certainly is uh should we call it there that's uh that's all we've got time for in
31:55this week's show join us again next week when we'll be discussing all the latest on the news and
31:59developments in the meantime follow all the latest black cats news on the sunland echo you can give us a
32:03follow on social media as well thanks to phil thanks to you for listening i'll see you next time
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