Happy birthday to Sunderland left back Dennis Cirkin, who was born on this day in 2002. He's a player we could do with now...
Cirkin has an interesting background. Despite playing for the Young Lions, he was born in Dublin and has Latvian parents. He was snapped up by Tottenham at a very young age, and even appeared on the bench for some of Spurs’ Europa League games. 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 won 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's been 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.
This season he's only been able to play eight games and his return date is still unknown, as of yet. Perhaps with his goalscoring exploits (five last season would make him our third-top scorer in this campaign) we could have used him as a proper number nine. Speedy recovery Dennis, and happy birthday!
