Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund. Chris Rigg to Manchester United. Dennis Cirkin to Leeds United.
The list goes on.
Just as Christmas gets earlier every year, so too does the silly season which precedes the January transfer window. Hanging on to their stars will be key to Sunderland’s season and I’m sure the hierarchy will be more than aware of that. Sunderland are attempting to maintain a promotion push and any suggestions that they might lose some of their best players at the start of next year will not go down well with fans.
Having diligently assembled a squad worthy of being top of the Championship, it is unlikely owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman will sanction moves when they simply don’t have to. It is only to be expected that a team at the top of the Championship and going to possess players others will covet.
Bellingham is a special case purely because of his surname. He is bound to prompt other clubs – worldwide – to sit up and take notice given the stature in the game of his older brother Jude. Even if Jobe becomes half the player his brother has become he is likely to have an extremely fulfilling career.
It’s just such a shame he has missed the last two games and it is clear how important he is to the side when you consider the two drawn matches without him. He’s been unlucky too. You might think that missing three games would be over fairly swiftly given the number of games in the Championship where three-game weeks are common-place.
But his timing was off, missing Preston, then at home to Coventry prior to an international break. What could have been a week will end up being close to four by the time the Black Cats host West Brom on Tuesday November 26, when he is next available. By that point we will see whether the club have been able to hold on to top spot after the latest round of fixtures.
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