Over the weekend, several former Sunderland men have been in the news. Callum Doyle scored a crucial goal, the Black Cats face competition for Jack Clarke and Connor Wickham is set for a new club.
DOYLE SCORES IN FINAL
England won the under-19 European Championships on Friday, with a 3-1 win over Israel in the final. The Young Lions were 1-0 down at the break, but Callum Doyle scored the equaliser in the comeback. Doyle had a close-range tap in with his weak foot after a well-worked corner. The game went to extra time, but England’s quality shone through as goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey seals the victory. Doyle, wearing the number three shirt, also denied Oscar Gloch his second goal of the game with a headed clearance of the line, as Israel pushed for an equaliser at 2-1.
CLARKE TO SHEFF UTD?
In other news, Sheffield United have reportedly ‘made contact’ with Tottenham for Jack Clarke, although Sunderland remain interested. The winger grew into a crucial part of Alex Neil’s plans during his loan stint last season, and has played in the Championship before with Leeds United, as well as loans with Stoke City and QPR. Negotiations are reported to be around a permanent deal for Clarke, rather than another loan move. Sunderland are said to be waiting to see if Clarke is included in Antonio Conte’s pre-season squad for their tour of South Korea later this month. Should he be involved, he will return to the UK just two weeks before the Football League season begins.
BACKROOM STAFF MOVING
Meanwhile, several retired former Sunderland men found new clubs over the weekend. Ex midfielder Dean Whitehead has left his coaching role at Port Vale to move to Turkey, where he will be working with former West Brom manager Valerian Ismael at Besiktas. Also, former defender Bernt Haas, who had a spell at Sunderland under Peter Reid, has been named Sporting Director at Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich. He began his playing career with Zurich, and had this to say: I am extremely excited about this new opportunity at the club where my football career began. “It is an honour for me to help shape the future of a club like Grasshoppers, which has great potential and boasts a rich tradition and history. Now I will get to work immediately and do my best to ensure we can start the season with a strong team.”
MORE ON THE MOVE
In more former player news, Former players Tom Beadling and El-Hadji Ba have both found new clubs, signing for Western Sydney Wanderers and Apollon Limassol respectively. Beadling will leave his hometown club Barrow to join the Australian side. Ba joins the Cypriot champions, where he will meet ex-teammates Valentin Roberge and Charis Mavrias. Moreover, Connor Wickham is set to sign for Reading following his release from MK Dons earlier this summer. The striker was spotted on trial with the Royals during their 2-0 friendly win over Colchester. With Reading under a transfer embargo, they are permitted to only sign loans and free transfers- due to breaching EFL regulations regarding profit and sustainability. Wickham always seems to score when he plays against us, but hopefully he doesn’t come back to haunt us should we face them in the Championship.
GARDNER SNUBBED
Finally, Craig Gardner will not take charge of Birmingham City for the upcoming season. He was odds-on favourite to replace Lee Bowyer, who was sacked amid speculation of a takeover. However, the Midlands club have now appointed John Eustace on a three-year contract. Gardner took charge of Birmingham on an interim basis back in 2020, leading many fans to assume he’d be entrusted to keep them in the Championship once again after finishing 20th last season. But he will continue his work as part of the backroom staff, working under new boss Eustace.
