OTD: DENNIS CIRKIN DEBUT

On this day in 2021, current Sunderland defender Dennis Cirkin made his debut for the club in an away win at MK Dons.

Cirkin has an interesting background. Despite playing for England at several youth levels, he was born in Dublin and has Latvian parents. He was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur at a very young age and even appeared on the bench for some of Spurs’ Europa League games in 2020. Jose Mourinho was said to be a big fan of the defender: "OK, he’s 17, but he’s a kid with a lot of quality, and I look forward to bringing him to train with us, and to help his development."

However, Cirkin struggled during the 2020/21 season. He was on the verge of being involved in the first team, before suffering a major injury which left him wearing a protective boot. He also lost his father due to illness during the year, a lot for anyone to take, never mind a teenager in his formative years.

Those factors, combined with left back competition from Sergio Reguilon, Ben Davies, and Ryan Sessegnon, meant Cirkin wasn’t ever considered to be part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans. In a transfer that seemed to confuse Spurs fans, he came to Wearside on a permanent transfer- although his contract was rumoured to have a buy-back clause should Tottenham regret the deal.

He made his debut away at MK Dons, where Lee Johnson’s men picked up a 2-1 win. With Denver Hume caught in a contract dispute, Cirkin was relied upon more than he probably would have expected. His first assist came at home to Accrington Stanley; a simple header to set up a Dan Neil screamer. Just a few weeks later, he assisted Carl Winchester against Bolton in a satisfying goal that saw us go from fullback to fullback.

Dennis Cirkin played in the 2022 League One play-off final, where he helped us win promotion to the Championship. He's a great asset to have, giving us defensive solidity and attacking thrust. In 2022/23, as well as scoring a fantastic brace against West Brom, he was knocked out against Millwall (whilst scoring a brave header). He also slammed one home against Cardiff in a 1-0 win. I dare say we wouldn't have reached the play-offs without his crucial contributions. Overall, he managed 34 games, scoring five and assisting one. That one assist came in a 2-1 victory versus Wigan Athletic, in which he also scored the winner.

Whilst never being a player who could be counted on to be injury free, it became a real problem in 2023-24. The left back could only muster up eight appearances and one assist all campaign. Cirkin picked up a hamstring injury in September, returning for three games in October/November but then it reoccured and he needed surgery. This kept him out until the start of 2024-25. He was definitely a massive miss and it's almost a certainty we would have picked up a few more points in those final months under Beale/Dodds had he been available for selection.

Last season, he was far better with his injuries as he played 39 games in all competitions. Although, he earned two call-ups to the England U21s squad and had to withdraw both times withut being capped due to injury concerns. For us, he scored three times and assisted twice. Cirkin assisted the winner at home to Norwich City, scored a late equaliser at home to Watford and assisted our opening goal of the campaign away to Cardiff City. He also played virtually every minute during our play-off campaign as we finally made it back into the Premier League after a club record eight-year absence.

Now that we've brought in Reinildo and Arthur Masuaku this summer, who both play primarily as left backs, he's going to face a fight for game time. Especially since he's starting the season injured (missing the first three games) and without having a preseason behind him.