OTD: BALLARD SIGNS
- BY BEN THIRKELL
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
On this day in 2022, Sunderland completed the signing of Dan Ballard from Arsenal.
Ballard came through at Hale End, joining the Gunners at the age of eight.
Although never playing a senior game for the club, he would have three loan spells that helped develop him into the player we have today.
His first loan spell was the least successful of them all, where he featured just three times at Swindon where a serious knee injury cut the loan short. He then joined League One side Blackpool for the 2020/21 season where he helped the Tangerines to promotion via the Play-offs beating Lincoln City who knocked Lee Johnson’s Sunderland out in the semi-finals.
His third and final loan would be at Millwall in the Championship the following season. He was a popular figure at the Den, playing 31 times and scoring once. He would return to North London but was expected to leave with interest from Burnley and newly promoted Sunderland.
He was incredibly close to a move to Turf Moor, passing a medical and having terms agreed but the move fell through last minute. Kristian Speakman swooped in and brought the Northern Irish centre-half to Wearside. He signed an initial three-year-deal for an undisclosed fee becoming our first signing back in the second tier.
Despite making just 19 league appearances in the 21/22 season, his ability was there for everybody to see but unfortunately injuries massively hampered his first season in the North-East.
In his second season, he was ever present but sadly one that many like to forget about, with Sunderland finishing 16th. Ballard scored three times including his first goal in a Sunderland shirt coming at Loftus Road in a 3-1 win against QPR.
He signed a new deal in the summer of 2024, extending his stay till 2028. Regis Le Bris arrived as our new Head Coach and after starting the season with injury problems, he found himself stuck behind Luke O’Nien and Chris Mepham in the pecking order. He started just 12 times and only played once from March onwards.
That was until he was recalled back into the side out of the blue replacing Mepham to play alongside O’Nien for the play-offs. That decision although deemed harsh on Mepham at the time, was one that ultimately got us promoted. Not only did he score that 120th minute winner in the second leg that will forever be immortalised in our history, but he produced three absolutely colossal performances at the back to end eight painful years outside of the Premier League.
As Speakman and Ghisolfi completely revamped the squad, Ballard was one of few that kept his place in the starting XI. Playing 29 times, including a goal on the opening day and a superb finish at home to former club to Arsenal, he certainly made it clear he is more than capable at the top level.
With European football on the cards next season, I’m sure Ballard is going to be a key part of next season, as he continues to prove why he has been one of our best signings in recent years.
