Kristjaan Speakman says that Sunderland are in talks with a number of their players over contract extensions this summer.
The Black Cats were handed a major boost on Tuesday when Chris Rigg signed his first professional deal with the club, bringing a swift end to any transfer speculation. Sunderland are also known to have held talks with influential midfielder Dan Neil, who rejected an initial offer of an extension with the identity of the club’s head coach at that point still unknown.
The Black Cats remain hopeful that they can reach an agreement though with two years left on his current deal, there is no need to sell this summer even if that does not happen. Speakman’s comments, though, make clear that there are a number of others in the squad who could be set for a further renewal.
“We’ve always tried to retain the top talent, those conversations are ongoing for numbers of players,” Speakman said.
“And I think, like I said, we try to keep a really, really close contact with the agents of all the players to know how they’re feeling, where they feel they’re at the minute, what they think is the next step for them, how comfortable are they with the environment, what can we do to chop and change things here to make sure they’re really, really comfortable. And naturally, if anyone’s got a contract they’re starting to get towards the conclusion, then we’re always really active on that front.”
The sporting director stopped short of ruling out any significant player sales this summer, but said the club was under no financial pressure to sell.
