According to Alan Nixon, Sunderland is now pricing Crystal Palace out of a move for Jobe Bellingham. Having named Regis Le Bris as their new head coach, Sunderland can now look forward to the 2024–2025 season.
The Black Cats got a deal over the line for Le Bris after fans waited over 100 days to see who would replace Michael Beale.
Focus can now shift fully to the summer transfer window and preparing their squad for the season aheaad.
Jobe, 18, played 45 Championship games for Sunderland last season. He scored seven goals and assisted another in the league.
The versatile midfielder joined last summer from Birmingham City where he followed the footsteps of his older brother Jude.
Now, his bright performances have sparked interest from above. Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford have been linked already this summer and reports suggested Sunderland had placed a £20m price tag on his head this summer.
Crystal Palace star Michael Olise is set to leave and join Bayern Munich this summer and whilst Jobe would have been on their list of replacements, it has now been claimed a deal is unlikely due to Sunderland’s high demands.
A good sign
Sunderland, in the past, have been guilty of letting their prospects leave too easily and it will be promising for fans to see that is no longer the case.
The Black Cats evidently value Jobe highly and at just 18, he played a huge amount of first team games in the north east last season. Jobe played in central midfield and even was used as a striker at times throughout last season.
He still has room to grow, but the early signs are promising and his ceiling is certainly high. He will no doubt have aspirations to play Premier League football one day, but it seems that is unlikely to happen this summer.
Work to do
Sunderland finished 16th last season. The Black Cats were really poor for the vast majority of the campaign and it led to them finishing closer to the drop zone than the top six.
The play-offs have to be the aim again this summer and whilst the transfer window is still in its early days, it will be hoped there is some movement in terms of incomings soon.
Le Bris will want to make his own mark on the squad and the French boss is used to working with young players. He is about to embark on his first season in management in England and it will be interesting to see how he adapts after spending two seasons in Ligue 1 with Lorient.
