Regis Le Bris, a new Frenchman who joined from Lorient to settle the uncertainty surrounding Wearside’s permanent manager, will leave Sunderland supporters unsure of what to anticipate from the newcomer.
Le Bris, who was just demoted in Ligue 1 and then moved to England, will only be evaluated on his ability to handle the demands of playing Championship football.
But, after ending the previous season in a dismal 16th place, the Sunderland supporters will be hoping for and almost expecting a far better season ahead.
That will be easier said than done, though, as some have found the demands of the Sunderland job to be too much in recent memory. If he was to get rid of a forgotten, injury-prone figure soon, the relative unknown in the Black Cats hot-seat could start to win over his new group of supporters.
The tenure of Dennis Cirkin at Sunderland
Dennis Cirkin was once a prospective first-team jewel at the Stadium of Light, but his career at Wearside is currently in a dreadful state of disarray.
Before being sidelined by injury in the just concluded season, the former Tottenham Hotspur youth product had an incredibly successful 22–23 campaign, managing five goals from the left flank.
Since then, though, Cirkin has frequently found himself in and out of Sunderland’s treatment room; for the course of the 23–24 season, he managed just eight games in the Championship.
That caused a whole host of issues for the struggling Black Cats consequently, with a lack of a nailed-down left-back making this a problem area for the various different managers that walked in and out of Sunderland before Les Bris’ arrival.
With players like Leo Hjelde and Aji Alese available to him at left-back, it is unclear if the injury-prone 22-year-old will be a part of Les Bris’ plans moving forward. Cirkin’s high salary may also be a contributing factor in Sunderland’s decision to let go of the former Spurs defender.
The pay of Cirkin at Sunderland
According to Capology, Cirkin makes a beautiful £10k a week at Sunderland right now, which means he is paid the same as Black Cats goalie Anthony Patterson, even though Patterson was a constant whole season—save for the last day.
Despite the fact that the 18-year-old is coming off a breakout season at the Stadium of Light, Cirkin’s large salary actually puts him above wanted man Jobe Bellingham, who gets just £6.5k a week.
Given that he finished his rookie season with seven goals and one assist from 47 games, Les Bris will likely have high expectations for him.
Bradley Dack, who made an absurd £15k a week, was recently let go from the club’s retained list, demonstrating that Sunderland won’t hesitate to fire big earners as well.
Therefore, Cirkin might be the next to go, and Sunderland is hoping that if they were to put him up for sale, a team would take a chance on his services in the hopes that he can recover from an injury and start playing well.
Conversely, Le Bris may have noticed something special in Cirkin during the preseason and hope that he may blossom during his time there. However, the former Tottenham player’s time at the Stadium of Light may soon come to an end, particularly if he sustains any more unlucky injuries.
